Why all the hate on FFVII?

[BoredDragon]

I can really say for certain since I personally haven't played it, but from what I heard I think it is because the shift in focus of the gameplay.

It went from strategy to spectacle and a lot of people are not very amused by pretty colors when they have to sit through it every turn of every battle.

 

[MetroidNut]

I've honestly never played FFVII, or any Final Fantasy game for that matter. But from what I've seen, at least, the primary factor seems to be hype backlash; I myself find it ever-so-slightly annoying that question of best JRPG is so frequently met with "FFVII". Come on, guys. Chrono Trigger is where it's at.

 

[Arqus_Zed]

1) For many, FF VII was the first RPG they ever played (5th gen == arguably the beginning of mainstream due to Sony marketing)

2) The first RPG you play will always leave a humongous impact, even more so if it is actually a pretty good game (and the first in the series to use polygons and pre-rendered backgrounds).

3) Thus, Final Fantasy VII became very popular and hyped - more than it was actually worth. I mean, the introduction of the materia-system definitely deserved some kudos, but not THAT much.

4) So you could say the game was 'over-hyped'.

5) And people don't like it when things get more praise than they deserve.

---- the end ----

 

[MuppeTeN]

I played FF, 1-9 and FF7 was the only one i got bored... plus it is overrated. But hate? Nah... i just don't like it.

 

[Retosa]

I enjoyed FFVII, but the fact that it was way too easy to get overpowered in the game made it kinda boring for the end. An end boss that you can kill at lvl 49 without any problems just kinda... 'eh. I mean, FFV you had to be lvl 55+, and even then it was an interesting fight. (I still found it kinda easy, but then again I used and abused Time Magic with my casters, and was dealing out ridiculous damage with my physical attackers).

Also, Kefka is the most epic FF villain ever. Insane clownman ftw!

To be completely fair, quite a few Final Fantasy games can be exploited so easily.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2i5NPjsL8Qg

Final Fantasy VIII and Final Fantasy X are just as easy to exploit as well, if I recall correctly.

Actually, I found that if you overlevelled early on in FFVIII the game got harder due to level scaling. Diablos was the most obvious instance of this, as he scaled RIDICULOUSLY per level.

Also, FFX was boring easy. <.< I never found it difficult at all. Ever.

 

[OtherSideofSky]

I think a big part of the problem here is that people who played the game when it first came out on the PS1 have built it up so much that when people who have become gamers since then or missed the original release go back to play it, it can't possibly live up to the hype. Part of its initial appeal was based on its graphics, which were state of the art for an RPG at the time, and they haven't aged well. The story is also nowhere near as good, relative to the average game story, now as it was then. The plot and characters may be good for a video game, at least at the time, but they're not the pinnacle of story telling that people looking back at it make it out to be.

People feeling cool because they hate popular things may be part of it, but I think this kind of backlash against the impossibly high expectations its fan-base have created for people is the main cause. Another part of it might be people who have come to hate the whole franchise based on other entries and don't necessarily give seven a fair chance.

Honestly, though, it was a good game for its time but I don't think it's aged very well and there are better RPGs and better stories even just on the PS1.

 

[Atmos Duality]

I recommend checking out FF3 if anything. FF7 was where the series started (actively) betraying its roots.

From strictly a gameplay-design perspective, this is probably the #1 problem I have with the series from FF7 onward. The "Tabula-Rosa" style of character design betrays the unique appeal each character is supposed to bring.

Spoiler: Detailed Explanation

Materia determines almost the entirely of that character's mechanical role in FF7 (with the only other serious metric being whether their weapons are ranged or melee) and because of this no character really feels unique. Their unique skills are relegated to their Limit Breaks, and towards the end of the game you shouldn't be using Limits all that often.

This design process is essentially copied for use in FF8, FF10 (international version), FF12, and FF13.
FF6 and FF9 have (IMO) more compelling characters because their abilities reflect their area of expertise. Sabin was amazingly strong and even a bit of a smart-ass hothead. Freya was a member of an order of lancers turned mercenary (for personal reasons), so she comes across as a professional in most of her dialog.

What makes Zell any different from Squall in terms of combat? Nothing. Absolutely nothing.
Their limit breaks are about combo hits. Apart from the uniqueness of the design, a Gunblade offers absolutely no measurable advantage over, say, a sectioned staff, chain whip or kung-fu.
And you know what? Those other bit characters really aren't all that interesting or compelling otherwise. I actually remembered Laguna better than the main characters.

The same argument could be made for the entirety of the main cast of FF12. Really, the game feels more like a pleasure cruise for 6 well-armed medieval nobodies.
FF10...it depends on which version you play. Though even in that game the character with the least defined MECHANICAL role (Kimari) is easily the most forgettable.

The one thing I really did like about FF7 is the core story between Cloud, TIFA, and Sephiroth. Aeris was more of a McGuffin than anything, but at least she was a well-made McGuffin. Really, Aeris was meant to distract the player from the far more important interaction between Cloud and Tifa.
Well, ok, I liked the cyberpunk-esque world of FF7, but that part has been expanded on to the point of silliness in the Compilation.

 

[AWDMANOUT]

Personally, I just dislike JRPG's as a whole.

They seem silly to me, and lack what I deem a good story (with a message and meaning behind it).

I know I'm throwing a big blanket over everything-there are no absolutes-and even I do enjoy Kingdom Hearts, on occasion.

But as a whole, I dislike them. Not as much as sports games though.

 

[Moka Lamme]

http://www.g4tv.com/videos/37041/your-childhood-sucks-final-fantasy-vii/

Sessler says it like it is. The overhyping by the extremist fans, coupled with the bad english translation and the fucking annoying random encounters put a lot of people off.

about the video: I didn't even notice the elipses after 6 playthroughs, I highly enjoyed the music, and the graphics were terrible. I agree on that 100%. the only thing is, I've never been one to care about graphics. I never compare games based on them, except for games like Road Rage 3D or whatever it was called for the ps1. As for the random encounters... I actually loved them. I know a lot of people hated them, but to me they added just the right amount of fear. Let's face it, FFVII wasn't very hard... at all in the least. The randomness of battles meant you had to be on your toes, and couldn't just look at the monster and say "oh, x will use x status effect on me and deal x damge so I should come into battle with x and I will take no damage at all" I probably didn't explain that very well, but i'm sure you get my jist. Compare it to games like Chrono Cross where you can tell exactly how many of the enemy are and where. It just turns the game into a cakewalk, especially for a game like FFVII that is easy at any rate, seeing the monsters beforehand would just be broken. ANYWAY sorry about that, I really enjoyed FFVII but I also played all the other games in the series... except V I think? And FFVII is still my favorite. 8 was not very good, IX was AWESOME but the battle mechanics bugged me throughout the game, and VI was good but not great. This is all jsut mho obviously, sorry for the long post XD

 

[Gabriel Xollan]

Final Fantasy VII, a title that when spoken proves itself the flagship of the series at least in America because that's when graphics were becoming popular and "revolutionary." I believe it was because of graphics that the game was promoted to such high levels. Followed by a decent array of side-quests and mini-missions to keep people's interest it did earn a fair amount of respect for RPGS of the time, but that to me is where the good stuff ends.

Problems with the game, easy to grind, beatum till they're dead. I'm a fan of easy simple overpowered shootum up hackin slashing games (Devil May Cry), but there is a point where some strategy would be nice.

Character development is only reinforced by the other installments for the series, "Crisis Core." Just playing VII alone doesn't give one all the answers as to who, what ,or why.

Yes there are clips of memory that play out when one goes back to Shinra manor, but if you had to ask me why Sephiroth decided to destroy the world when he had everything he wanted would equate to "Because I Can." This is an answer already done by a fair amount of other characters (Kefka) and for someone so sophisticated, a cry in the dark for well rounded character development. The new reason for going insane being because another man also in a leather coat with a long sword recited too many poems until it was beaten into his head to the point he wanted to kill everyone is also fairly lame as an excuse.

To conclude, Zack Fair is the only reason I'll have full respect for the game. Cloud, Vincent, and Sephiroth are overrated because advertising builds the characters into memorable icons.

If you want a game with good story, understandable characters, and decent gameplay I'd suggest Final Fantasy IX. Best of the old with a healthy amount of the new.

Also, Bravers man?Bravers?so many Bravers. Its freakin ludicrous!!! Most broken move in Dissidia.

 

[AdamRBi]

Nostalgia is a factor here. Some will praise it based on how they saw it as a child, others will praise it simply because they enjoy it. Others won't see the appeal and dismiss it while others will polarize and fight against it's popularity even if they don't really hate it as much as they claim.

When there's mass love for something there will always be a balanced hatred for it.

 

[chuckman1]

It's popular so it must be bad right?

 

[userwhoquitthesite]

"Because Cloud's emo and Sephiroth is a mama's boy."

Cloud isn't emo, and you are correct about that. Cloud really has one emo moment, when he blames himself for handing over the black materia to sephiroth, and that whole scene, which, in context make PERFECT sense, what with the mind control and identity-shattering revelations, and everything else

Sephiroth, though, is a bit more complex. He may not be a "mama's boy" in the normal sense, you do have to remember that a large part of his motivation is the psychological want for a parental figure, which develops into a full-blown psychotic break after his OWN identity-shattering revelation. He loses trust in his adoptive father figure (already on shaky ground, since he feels abandoned after gast's death) and latches on to the one true thing he knows: Jenova. His relationship with the alien organism is, in all honesty, fairly oedipal, despite all interceding factors.

Really though, the reason to hate FFVII is as someone else said: its cool to hate things everyone else likes. FFVII was sooooooooo popular, and now it gets a backlash.

Really, FFVII is one of the better 3D FF games. I cant play through 9, so I can't judge it, but VIII and XIII were atrocious in every aspect, and FFX had a good story hampered by at times terrible dialogue and spotty voice-acting. XII was a-fucking-mazing but takes seven hours to start and well... I'm Captain Basch. VII had plenty of weak points of its own, but as long as its story is better than X-2 (game was great. story kinda blew. still better than FFVIII in every way) I'm gonna call it a win.

The real problem is all the shitty things they keep adding to the mythos.
FFVII: DoC was reverse Devil May Cry, and was fairly entertaining.
Advent Children was a nifty action flick with tasty tasty visuals. And Spider Reno.
Last Order... had okay animation.
Before Crisis: really pushed the limits of the PSP graphics capability

THAT IS THE ONLY NICE THING I CAN SAY ABOUT ANY OF THOSE. Every tiny detail they keep adding to FFVII is badly written, adds plot holes and inconsistencies, and makes me angry.

Duh... wow. did not expect a comment that was quite this detailed. Thanks man, you put that better than I ever could have.

Thank you! Admit it, though, you only liked it because i mentioned Spider Reno.

Dammit, I was gonna embed the Reno song, but I can't find it anymore. Anyone seen it? It's the Llama Song, but with Reno.

mmmmm, quinton flynn characters....