Final Fantasy 7
Review
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Final Fantasy 7. Not only was it the first ever Final Fantasy game I have every played, it is also my personal favourite (but FF9 comes a close second). It was one of the best selling games in Japan, braking records, and eventually selling 3.2 million copies. But that isn't why I like it. No no no. There is more to it than that... Infact, the game has so many excellent features about it, I don't know where to begin...
The game's graphics are excellent. Sure, compare it to FF8 and FF9's graphics, and it shows it's age. What do you expect - game makers are always improving the graphics a game can have, but then again, a good game needs alot more than just good graphics. If you ask me, graphics are the last thing I consider when reviewing a game.
The game's story is a masterpiece. The game focuses on a few main plots (e.g. Shinra and Sephiroth), and adds in loads of wonderful twists and turns which you would never expect. Don't believe me? Then complete Disk 1. This is the main reason why the FF7 storyline is better than the one in FF8 (see "FF8 Review" to hear all of my views). Yes, the FF8 one maybe easier to understand, but that is because it is always chopping and changing. Anyway, back to FF7
Another good thing about FF7 is the cast. They are all excellent, and all have a DIFFERENT background (something, which FF8 lacks. Again, see "FF8 Review" to hear the full story). Even the hidden characters Vincent and Yuffie have backgrounds, which can only be learned if you obtain them. Their background also uncovers a few more of FF7. Well Cait Sith is the only character who doesn't really have a background. Not much is know about him. And to those who says Tifa doesn't have much of a background - I suggest replaying Disks 1 and 2, as a huge portion of her background is uncovered with Cloud.
Another decant feature which is missing from both FF8 and FF9, is the fact that you can personalise the game. It is possible to re-name every playable character in FF7 (like in FF9), which was something which was missing in FF8 - you could only re-name Squall, Rinoa, Rinoa's dog (why?) and the GFs (again, why?). This allows loads of possibilities, e.g. naming Tifa and Aeris after girls you like (if you're male. If you're female, then rename Cloud and co.) or you could mess around, like re-name Red XIII: like "Puddy Tat", or "Puddy Wuddy". Well, it makes me laugh. Another thing, which you could do, was edit the window colour. Basically, you take the three colours of light (Red, Green and Blue), and keep adding different quantities on the four corners to make your own window colour. FF8 doesn't have anything like it, and the only which comes close to it in FF9 is the ability to change the window colour from grey to blue, which ain't they same.
FF7's battle system is the best to date. In FF7, there are two different rows - front and back. In the front row, a character with a short-range weapon (Sword, fists etc.) can deal more damage than they would in the back row. However, all characters will receive more damage from physical attacks. In the back row, characters will receive less damage from physical attacks, but characters with short-range weapons will do less damage. Characters with long range weapons will do the same amount of damage if they are in the front or back row. Another excellent feature about FF7 is that there are a total of five different battle formations - Basic, Pre-Emptive Attack, Back Attack, Side Attack and Attack From Both Sides. Basic is when your team and the enemy face each other. Pre-Emprive is when the enemy has their back to you, allowing you to attack them first. Plus, attacking them in the back would cause more damage to them. Back Attack is the opposite, as you have your back to the enemy. Plus, those in the front row are in the back and vice versa. Side Attack is when you surround the enemy, and Attack From Both Sides is when the enemy surround you. See how much complex the battles are to FF8 and 9!!
FF7 also has quite a few decent sub-games, including the excellent bike chase, and the ability to breed and race birds called Chocobos. Also, sub games like the bike one can be accessed any time in the Gold Saucer. However, you must have done this at least once in the game to unlock it. It is really great, as you can re-live those classic moments.
The game also has an excellent life span. The game is 3 discs long, and it will take a while to complete, but it also has other things that add to the life span, like the limit breaks. Most characters have 4 levels of limit breaks, each with 2 limit breaks per level (with the exception of level 4). It takes quite a few hours to learn all of these, seeing as you need to meet certain targets before you learn the next one (this is explained in the page "Limit Breaks"). And then there's Materia - stones that let you perform magic, summon monsters etc. To collect them all and master every single stone would take forever (again, I'll explain this more in the page "Materia").
The game's only two flaws are:
1: Every one is deformed, and I mean it. They look really weird. OK, I prefer this look to the FF8 look, but it could at least be more like FF9's look.
And 2: Every one walks into the leader when they aren't needed. This can be confusing at times, aseptically when someone starts talking about your party, even though they are "still in Cloud". Put these to one side, and you have a masterpiece. FF7 beats FF8 any day of the week.
So, out of five, I am (obviously) going to give FF7 5/5. Buy it today.
A few of the nice people at Shinra Online have given me a few FF7 and 8 reviews (the FF8 reviews can be found in the page "FF8 Review"). OK, here they are:
Note: IMO = In My Opinion
FF Warrior:
FF7, IMO, is the best game ever made.
The storyline is purely amazing; It starts off as something quite small and turns into a huge struggle for the life of the planet...
The characters are all great, although I disliked Aeris. Most of them are very well developed and explained, especially Cloud.
Before I played the game I had never seen a battle system like the one in FF7, but I started to like it more and more and it became my favourite thing about the game.
There are also a load of mini-games, like chocobo breeding and racing which are very fun.
The_Illusion:
I believe that FF7 was the first great game I had ever played at that time. The graphics and movies were amazing, not to mention the story and character development. Sure, it could get annoying and boring with the random battles, but it was all worth it to beat the final boss and see that awesome FMV. Great game!
DayFul:
I think I must have played this game for 3 months solid when I first got it. I especially like the way the game lets you do what you want and give you a lot of freedom in what you do, some people don't like messing around building levels but I like it as it gives you more ways of playing keeping your levels stupidly low and stuff to make the game more challenging (We know it's too easy). The characters for the most part where cool Yufie is easily my fav RPG character she's nasty to everyone and kicks ass. Cid gotta love this guy he swears like crazy and anyone who fights while smoking needs respect. Vincent is cool for one reason hellmasker is kinda sick really funny to watch. The FMV was cool only there was no Yuffie which is a big black mark against it . But it's cool and addictive as hell but FF 9 seems cooler now but I still play FF7 a lot.
And finally, Hope:
Final Fantasy VII was simply superb.
In the beginning, the plotline sounds, well, extremely stupid. A battle-based version of Eco-Quest. However, it quickly drew me in as I discovered how much more there was to it than that.
For instance, there was the Shinra corporation. I expected the employees to be nameless, faceless, and pure evil. Rather, I found them, strangely, as somewhat endearing. From he downright silly Palmer to the largely-laid back Turks, from the sometimes cruel, but sometimes wistful Rufus to the compassionate Reeve, they each had their own deep, complex personalities - surprising, considering they didn't even have last names.
Next, there were the heroes of the story. I had at first dismissed Cloud and Barret both as being childish and arrogant, until the first scene in the bar. I found Cloud's conversation with Tifa sweet, as were their poorly hidden feelings for each other, and Barret's affection for his daughter made me smile every time. Rather than conforming to a single stereotype, these characters had depth which, while not explained in the game, could certainly be made up for the characters by fanfic writers across the world.
The plot was extrodinarily confusing at first. For some reason, they brought in these "Ancients" and this "Jenova" thing, which frustrated me to the point where I would find out what it was all about or die trying.
I had actually played Final Fantasy VIII before I played the seventh, so I was unimpressed by the graphics. However, considering the positively antiquated technology in 1996/97, I couldn't really blame them.
I loved the music. It was almost all sort of bland in the beginning; the opening music was awing, certainly, but I wasn't particularly fond of the Bombing Mission music, and the battle music got old. However, as the plot became more rich and deep, so did the music. It was completely decided when Aeris's Theme, not the event accompanying it, moved me to tears.
Overall, Final Fantasy VII was fantastic. The graphics were less than optimal, and I still have yet to figure out all the plot, but I have fallen in love with this game.
Do you agree with my review? Do you think I was to kind or to cruel? Have I missed something out? Then e-mail me by using the button found at the top of this page. Who knows, if your review is good enough, I may even add it to the website.
Note: I will not except any comments against the reviews written by people other than me (i.e the ones written by the people from Shinra Online).
