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5 good reasons why FFVII is great

FFVII is a video game that stands out amongst a long and prestigious series, from a company who’s excellent line of role playing games has set an industry standard since its inception. Now 8 years later many more games have succeeded it, their stories come and gone, and yet the 7th game in this series has created a fan base that still persists to this day. Speaking as a long time fan of the game and series myself, I have settled on 5 good reasons why I believe FFVII is just great.


1. By today’s standards, FFVII’s deformed “chibi” style 3-D characters and midi soundtrack may make this game seem antiquated to today’s audience, but what many people may not realize is that when it was released it had blown the lid off of conventional RPG’s and set a new standard in quality. FFVII marked the series departure from the SNES (or Super Famicon) to the Sony Playstation, the first incarnation of the series to take place outside of a medieval fantasy setting, and the first to delve into the realm of 3-D animation. No game before it had such a staggering multi-million dollar budget, or team of dedicated programmers. The result was a game that not only grossed more money than any before it, but even sold PSX consoles on its notoriety.

For many players, FFVII marked their first adventure into the genre of role playing games, many more who went on to not only become fans but also went back to explore the roots of the FF series. Whether they remained fans of the game or not, it served as a gate way into, what was at the time, a sadly minority genre. FFVII put RPG's on the North American gamers map.

2. The unprecedented success of the game spawned a multitude of spin-offs and cameo’s, which included both games in the Kingdom Hearts series, FF Tactics, Ehgreiz, Chocobo Racing, Before Crisis, Crisis Core, and the only full length motion picture based on a FF game, Advent Children. Before and since, no other game in the FF series has enjoyed this level of success and universal appeal.

3. In terms of recognition, no other game in this series has spawned such recognisable icons. The spiky haired hero Cloud, the magical and beautiful Aeris, and last but certainly not least, the inhuman villain Sephiroth. Some might argue that Cloud and Sephiroth may not represent the ideal characters in their respective roles, but it remains that they are more universally recognised. Antagonists such as Zemus, Ultimecia, and even X-Death are all but unknown in comparison to Sephiroth and Jenova.

4. Why are the characters of FFVII so memorable? It’s thanks to some top-notch story writing and character development; each minor character has a background story, an obstacle to over come, and ultimately a role to play in the struggle to save the planet. And while the player is usually free to assemble a traveling party of any characters they wish, eventually every ally gets their moment to shine.

5. On the subject of character development; aside from the story, characters grow stronger in levels and abilities in a simple yet unique way. While in past games characters were assigned into strict roles from which they couldn’t deviate (warrior, wizard, healer, etc.), while in FFVII each character can be built up as the player sees fit. Inevitably some characters are better at certain roles than others, but with the vast combinations of equipment and material, any warrior may try their hand at spell casting and vice versa. Through this system the same game can be played several times, using as many different strategies as the player sees fit.

Part 2 – The Remake

Ah yes, a rumor as old as the release of the Playstation 2, and a testament to the dedicated fan base. No other game has ever been as ripe for a remake, no other game audience ever been so hopeful and demanding for one. A point made very clear when Square-Enix teased its fan base by re-creating the opening scene from the game using the powerful technology of the PS3. And while Square-Enix doesn’t seem to have any interest in a re-make as of yet, nobody can argue that the franchise is still going strong, especially for a game that was released more than 8 years ago, in an industry that is constantly looking forward to the next bigger, better game.

If I post it in the video game forum, they'll tell me to take it to the Final Fantasy sub forum. If I take to the Final Fantasy subforum, they'll recycle it. So here it shall stay.

ASL!?

Final Fantasy VI had system as well, so did II. How is learning abilities by killing monsters and earning EXP/AP a unique way?

1. Just because it had a movie and prequels and sequels doesn't mean it's a good game. It means that it has a fanbase big enough for SE to benefit from them as they are going to buy the merchandise of the things related to the games. The movie had great effects, but it isn't the best thing ever, same as the game. It's not bad, but not the best.



And? Squall appears in the Kingdom Hearts series and he has a greater role in the story. Yes, FFVII made appearances in the KH series, but so as Tidus, Wakka, Selphie, Raijin, Fujin, Seifer, Setzer, Vivi, YuRiPa, Auron.
Squall and Rinoa appeared as well in Itadaki Street Special, and Squall also appears in Chocobo Racing and rarely in the title screen of FFVI's port to the PS. Quistis is appearing in Quistis Itadaki Street Portable for the PSP. Cecil appears in Secret of Evermore. Edward appears in Legend of Mana. Tidus, Yuna and Auron appear in Itadaki Street Special. YuRiPa again appear in the same game. Etc, etc. That means that other FF characters appear in other games. Also, FFX was the first FF in having a sequel, beating FFVII in that aspect.



Just because they are recognizable doesn't mean they are better than other characters. Also, it means that other characters have not been blessed/cursed by popularity.



Character development? Some characters didn't get that. Take Yuffie for example. If you got her, the development she received was almost none.



Yet they are very similar. A good thing about having characters with an specific role is that we have variety. We need to adapt each character in different situations. Some are better against a certain type of enemies. Also, the battle system was not new.

It's a matter of opinion. Get over it. Writing these "reasons" doesn't mean that the game is great. Facts =/= opinions. Why don't you just enjoy the game and let other people think what they want?

A series is only continued if it is profitable, and a game is only profitable if it's good. If it's not good people wouldn't buy it would they? I don't believe I ever said once that FFVII or AC was the best thing ever, I said it was great. smile



And? My point was that the characters of FFVII have had more cameo's in more games than any other from the FF series. Just because Cloud and Sephiroth appeared beside Squall and the FFX crew in KH doesn't diminish the fact that Cloud had 3 cameo roles before hand. My claim still holds true; Cloud and the FFVII crew aren't the only ones to appear in other games, but right now they have the majority of appearances.



Again, where are you reading that I said that Cloud and co. were better than any other FF character? I said they were recognisable, and it still holds true. As for why I could only speculate but I don't care to, it was never my point.



Name me one character who didn't develop at all in the game; and I don't mean those who only developed a little, you said some don't have any development and I'm very curious as to whom you think they were. As for Yuffie she had plenty of character development if you took her to Wutai.



FFVII tried a new style of character and skill development, because they didn't want to rehash the same system they had been using for each game up to that point. As to whether it was a success or not depends on your point of view. I thought it was refreshing, you didn't, and I don't mind that at all. The point was it was something different, with its own pros and cons.



Don't fret, I'm quite "over it" and have been for awhile. I'm not saying anyone has to like it at all, I'm just saying the game was simply great. But if certain people feel the need to voice their negative view on the subject, I have no problem rebutting them.