Final FAntasy VII

Never before have technology, playability, and narrative combined as well as in Final Fantasy VII. The culmination of Square Soft's monumental effort is a game that will enrich just as it will entertain. Yet, for all the boundless praise it so rightfully deserves, Final Fantasy VII is not without its shortcomings and occasional design problems. These are enough to make some gamers (who are unfamiliar with RPGs, to be sure) wonder just why anyone would bother playing through it in the first place.

This is the most dazzling visual experience to date on any console. Film-quality computer-generated cinematics blend seamlessly with pre-rendered background artwork to create the strikingly realistic world of Final Fantasy VII, both beautiful in its grandeur and terrifying in its detail. The overworld and battle sequences are presented in full polygonal splendor with just a touch of texture mapping for good measure. But you haven't seen anything until you witness some of the more powerful magic spells in the game. Massive dragons heed your bidding, dwarfing your gigantic enemies tenfold; an earth titan tears the ground up from beneath your enemies' feet, flinging them aside like toy blocks. Some of these summoning spells cut to over half a dozen different camera angles as the catastrophe unfolds. Meanwhile, a masterfully orchestrated soundtrack - courtesy of veteran composer Nobuo Uematsu - is a major force behind the intense emotion of Final Fantasy VII. The synthesized musical score hearkens Final Fantasy's golden age on the Super Nintendo, consciously staying true to its roots.

Yet for all its top-notch graphics and sound, truly the best aspect of Final Fantasy VII is the plot that these peerless aesthetics help weave. Join the enigmatic mercenary Cloud Strife in a journey that will take him to the very source of his being in an incredible quest where the fate of the world hangs by a precious thread, threatening at any instant to be torn by the charismatic, tormented villain of the story. Final Fantasy VII's moving plot is influenced by some of the greatest works of science fiction film and literature, including Frank Herbert's Dune, Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, and even Godzilla. If you were to strip away the story, scenery, and musical score, Final Fantasy VII would otherwise be very much like any other Japanese RPG you've ever played. You still must face countless random monster encounters while keeping a close eye on your hit points and magic points, and you will witness your characters grow stronger with every experience level they attain. Battles are fought in typical Japanese RPG fashion (albeit with fully polygonal graphics), with your team on one side and any number of opponents on the other. You exchange blows until you or the enemy is defeated. Fights are made interesting with the introduction of Limit Breaks (devastating desperation attacks) and Materia, the curious colored crystals that let your party use magic and other special abilities. Materia can be found or purchased and mixed and matched to create all sorts of interesting effects. Best of all, there are more than enough hidden Materia, weapons, and optional plot sequences in the game to merit playing it through at least twice.

A game to be remembered for decades to come

Final Fantasy VII is without a doubt, one of the great JRPGs to date. It takes the tried and true formula of the genre and makes it better with the outstanding materia combo system featured in this game. The versatility in comparison to other games in the genre is unchallenged, even to this day allowing you to make use of any of the game's protagonists in every situation imaginable.

The graphics were gorgeous for it's time and it still stands as one of the best looking games on it's original platform, the PS1. Not only were the graphics good, but the overall design was fantastic as well. Tetsuya Nomura's character design are front and center as he introduces the world of Final Fantasy VII to us through his grossly unique cast of characters from the Hero Cloud down to the sneaky Ninja Yuffie.

The music in the game is one of it's most amazing aspects, Nobuo Uematsu is a legendary composer and listening to the soundtrack for this game, it's easy to hear why he's held in such high regard. Every piece on this soundtrack is memorable and every piece fits the mood of the game perfectly. If you don't fall in love with these tracks then I would question your taste in music.

Finally the game's story is one of the areas it shines brightest in. It starts out small, with the heroes striving to shut down an evil corporation and eventually spirals into saving the world from the demented Sephiroth. The characters are well developed and likable (well, most of them, nobody like Yuffie or Cait Sith) and most of all, you can relate to Cloud and his struggles to find himself. Final Fantasy VII’s story focuses primarily on the latter point, the hero Cloud Strife is a young man tormented by his past constantly throughout the game. From his uncertain history with Shinra to death of a close friend. Cloud’s story is one you’ll likely never forget.

The innovative battle system, the deep and spanning story, likable characters, beautiful FMVs, and a fantastic musical score make this one of the best Final Fantasy games and one of the best games ever made.

A FINAL FANTASY (AND RPG) MILESTONE

I played Final Fantasy VII when it first came out as an avid follower of the entire FF series, and it's been hailed as "quite possibly the greatest game ever made" by GameFan magazine. It's been entertaining FF fans for about ten years and the enthusiasm does not seem to have abated. Highly anticipated at the time as the first 3D FF game, it did not, and does not, disappoint. This is a must-have for any RPG gamer, and should be enjoyed even though technically is has since been surpassed by later installments in the series. For long-time RPG fans, this magnificent epic will bring a wave of nostalgia for the days when this was considered the height of technical advancement. For first-time players, the gameplay may seem outdated and the graphics blocky and awkward looking, but it sounds as though the superior aspects of the game still shine through when you read reviews from those playing for the first time.

PROS
- Hailed by many gamers to have the most compelling, in-depth, and emotional storyline of all the FF installments. Story is augmented by unique and original dialogue, dreams, memories, visions, and other enrichments that allow the player to delve deeper into the characters identities, personalities, and roles. Gamers will enjoy a memorable saga of friendship, love, politics, honor, bravery, sacrifice, corruption, surprising plot twists, superior villians, and much, much more.

- First FF game to offer 3D polygonal characters, an innovation at the time and still enjoyable.

- Multiple side quests and mini-games, including secret FMV's special moves, and hidden characters.

- Choose from nine playable characters recruited throughout the story.

- Contains over an hour of enjoyable full-motion video scenes throughout the game that draws the player deeper into the story, creating a movie-like environment.

- Players enjoy never-before character enhancements such as the auto status abilities such as auto haste, auto resurrection, and the ability to absorb magic from opponents.

- Expansive character and weapon customization, summons, and magic.

- Large, detailed, and delightful world that you can travel on foot, by chocoba or airship, or buggy.

- Memorable and fabulous musical score, one of the best I can remember in any FF or RPG game.

- One of the most memorable bad guys in RPG gaming history, Sephiroth!

CONS
- Overabundance of gil and ability to steal weapons takes the edge off the battles and "struggle" of characters during gameplay that has always been a hallmark of FF games.

- Not as challenging as past games.

Final Fantasy VII: The Beginning

Final Fantasy VII

The Best RPG of all time. This is the square role playing game ever. FFVII is the game that gotten so many non roling players to play.

Final Fantasy is a turn base RPG and the battle do not take place in real time as some of the newer RPG's today. FFVII is hands down best in the series. Cloud Strife along with sweet Aries and Tifa and friend must collect materia which are small orbs objects that contain great power to face of against Jenova and Sephiroth in a battle to save Migar.

By today standards this game is still consider superior to many other game despised dated polygon graphics. However, the superior story telling and character development seem to win over all against other RPGs to this date While the graphics are date, this is this one of the first and the best RPG games released for Play Station. Some of the best feature and graphics isn't Tifa breast alone. The render of the world of Miger back ground and landscapes are amazing The summoning are simply amazing along with the orchestra music. The sound track was compose by Nobuo Uematsu and is some of the best music ever created for a game. What is great about the Final Fantasy Saga is that each one is completely different and takes place sever hundred years part. Many of the fans are still stuck on seven and are in love with the characters. That is how special the game is.
It is so much to do in the game along with the mini games and side quest, you can basically go any were if you have the right vehicle and experience points. Final Fantasy takes you to another world literally where you will meet new friends and foes along the way.
One of the most impress thing in the story is the mystical land that you are in and it is not full of magical fairies. Politics, action, emotion, this games seem to have it all along with relations ships and love interest along with touches of humor.

The recent release of the Final Fantasy VII Advent Children seem to shine new light on to the game along with a few spin off games. Final Fantasy is full of feeling and heart. A game that should not be missed. This game is a complete five stars.

Forget any of the reviews that say this game is bad or if they have not completed it for they have no idea what they are talking about. Best game ever. FFVII is still one of the best games today. To play it is to live it.

amazing game

Although this game is frequently criticized for featuring "angst characters" and a large number of anime and video game clichés, critics of this game's plot should consider that fan perception of the originality of this game has been lessened considerably by the future inclusion of similar character and plot dynamics in the final fantasy series, particularly in FFVIII and FFX. This video game features truly incredible storytelling, and this game should be called cinematic not just because of the inclusion of FMV, but because of the large number of visual metaphors expressed in the game's visual direction. The low-polygon-count 3-D presentation of this game gives it a visual style which emphasizes the geometric nature of objects, and the producers of the game have changed a technical limitation into a stylistic enhancement. The game's usage of light and dark, squalor and cleanliness, gloom and beauty, give it a literary theme of naturalism, by representing the products of human technology as ugly. The game's various themes communicate the producers' vision of which environments represent hell, and which represent heaven. The game spends a lot of time exploring the identities of the characters of Cloud, Aerith, Tifa and Sephiroth through dreams, memories, and hallucinations, and rather than including definitive, conclusive scenes in which the whole truth of the characters are revealed, the game challenges you to discover the reality of various events by logically reconciling the various perspectives from which they are viewed. This is "angst storytelling" at its most beautiful, as it challenges the players to make an effort to understand the characters. Some minor design flaws in this game include the three-character limit in battle, which reduces the player's ability to diversify the roles of the heroes. Also, the over availability of gil makes purchasing weapons and items too easy and minimalizes the usefulness of alternate methods for party growth, such as stealing weapons and items. If the battles as a whole seem too easy in this game, it is because the game was designed with the intention of challenging the player to experience it, rather than challenging the player to get through it. The game is filled with a variety of fun methods for winning battles, from high-powered summons to enemy skills, and some otherwise difficult boss battles become defeated after equipping a specific accessory. Part of the coolness of this game is the fact that it was the first major RPG to allow the players to develop extremely powerful heroes, by combining abilities such as auto-resurrection, auto-haste, multiple counter attacks, mp absorption, and much more. In other words, the lack of challenge is largely deliberate, and designed to give the players freedom to choose which resources to throw at a particular battle, rather than forcing the players to throw everything they have at most battles in order to have a chance for victory. FF VII must also be commended for the distinctively unique visual design of every dungeon and section of the map. Experimenting with different characters and weapons is fun in this game, and this is complimented by visual touches which were unique to this game at the time of its release. I came to realize that in terms of characterization and presentation, FFVII is the quintessential Final Fantasy game.