After FF6 (which I'm sure everybody in the frickin' world must already know was called FF3 in the USA) Final Fantasy took a short vacation from the gaming world. Nintendo had been working together with Sony to produce a CD system, but Nintendo decided against it and Sony left with its system technology. Squaresoft had done several games for Nintendo (many of which were and still are exclusive to Japan), but when Nintendo said they were sticking with cartridge based games, Square defected to Sony when they made their latest multi-million dollar masterpiece. Final Fantasy VII took Japan by storm and was already inciting riots in the USA, easily the best selling FF game ever, FF7 introduced Final Fantasy to the world of 3D and added in tons of secrets, side quests, mini games, hidden characters, optional limit breaks, summons, Materia and all sorts of simply awesome additions to the franchise that made FF7 a mind blowing success!
Why it sucks: As of 2002, it's somewhat outdated, and while naturally likeable... the characters didn't seem as real as the ones in FF6. And while it can keep you busy for about 90 or so hours it doesn't feel as stupidly vast as its predecessor. Keep in mind I'm writing this review about a month after the review for FFX. ^_^; So I've seen things that not only put it to shame, but blow it out of the water and laugh on into the night. Want to try something Fantastical? Try FF9. Gots cajones? Try FF8. It's as I said, a tad outdated. Assuming Square can get back into their game after the horrific failure that was FF: The Spirits Within, they may or may not make a DVD re-mastered version of Final Fantasies 7-9, as well as FFX International(?) which is a Japanese exclusive redux. The game as a whole seems to really appeal to early teens who obsess over Future Trunks from Dragon Ball Z, which kinda freaks me out, personally. There's also this weird obsession over the conflict between Cloud & Sephiroth, as if these people try to invent something more between them desperately clinging to FF7's somewhat trite plot.
All in all, it's not a bad game even now. TO be honest I'm drooling at the though of getting this Special Edition FF7. But if you dislike RPGs, or anything about 70-90 hours long... or spikey hair, I'd refrain from playing this. :)
Why it rules!!!: My mad obsession with Tifa aside, this will be one of the best games you will ever play. Period. While even I think the plot is somewhat trite, I hung on every word and action going on throughout the game. I've beaten 7 at least once every year since its release because its THAT good. I have to keep coming back for more ^_^ FF7 made Summons a major tool at your disposal and something everyone generally looked forward to whipping out on some boss. Of course this was also the game that made people wish you could sometimes get a shorter summon or skip the summon entirely and jump right to the results. As cool as the Summons are, it's not fun when you have to sit through some of the stupidly LOOOOONG summons to get one big laser blast from a dragon in space to hit some little axe wielding rodent! But then again, it's a small gripe and the summons aren't even a big part of FF7. They just kick ass :)In this particular game there's no real unique skill that any character has besides their Limit breaks. Their abilites are determind by their Level, Materia placement and equipment. While this doesn't add the mix of variety and strategy that one might hope, it doesn't really subtract all that much from the game. :) This game alone brought with it enough hype to start a revolution when it came over from Japan, and those who'd been flossing their teeth with FF6 in the USA were more than ready for it. FF7 helped make RPGs the huge sensation they are now in the USA and even the world! Unfortunately for the mediocre RPGs which were struggling with their place in the video game food chain, such as Wild Arms, they got caught in the undertow of the FF behemoth and into the hell that is obscurity. Not to say these were bad games, but they couldn't even begin to hold a candle to FF7 in terms of gameplay, music or visuals which is what holds a players attention these days. As a slave to the FF empire, I wholeheartedly recommend this title both for it being another magnificent installment of the flagship Square series and for its incredible merits on its own.
I smell tie-in!: Bandai seems to either fork over huge amounts of cash for liscencing fees or they threaten the lives of everyone they make toys for. Like kidnapping the first born sons of Squaresoft or something... because bandai as a general rule sucks. The FF7 toys weren't bad, but they're hardly great... of course that didn't stop me from buying damn near all of them ^_^; Check eBay or some import stores for the figures, posters, scrolls, playing cards, keychains, statues and all the awesome swag you could ever hope to find for FF7! No movie or TV series, but you'll find ties to other games like the upcoming Disney/Square game Kingdom Hearts where Cloud, Cid & Yuffie will have cameos. In Final Fantasy Tactics, cloud is a powerful secret character you can unlock late in the game with many of his limit breaks used as attacks. Even Omnislash! :D FF7 is probably one of the biggest of merchandising monsters in the world so there's no telling what's out there and the Japanese have this habit of making damn near anything into cool swag. :) Even toilet paper.
Overall: Any game that causes me to break down in tears at a certain point (those of you who've played can probably guess what I speak of) and become teary every time I see the ending gets a MAJOR thumbs up! It's an awesome game that tested the limits of the PSone at the time and continued to do so with each following game. There's a damn good reson it received such stupidly high praise after its release and if you doubt me I suggest you give FF7 a try :) Not quite perfection, but I have yet to play a game which has reached such a high status. An experience I would not recommend missing.
(Spoiler Space)
SPOILER!!!! Cloud never worked with Seph! He was under Seph's command, as a motion sick Shinra Solider who happened to be pretty good friends with Seph's ACTUAL partner, a REALLY spikey haird fella named, Zack. As it turns out, Cloud really DID kill Sephiroth by miraculously throwing him off a catwalk with his own sword after Seph stabbed it through him. Through some truly bizarre fashion, Seph cloned himself and sought to bring back his "mother" all the while keeping a healthy distance from Cloud and friends to stay relatively mysterious. The Seph clone's intentions were eventually found to be to use the black materia to summon a lone and barren planet to crash into their planet. Kablooie! The clone also died at the hand of Cloud when it tried to... I dunno... merge with him or something, causing Cloud to use his most powerful limit attack on him erasing Seph and Jenova from all existence. Poof.