Well, as expected, it's time to give my thoughts on one of the most controversial games in all of video game fandom. Final Fantasy VII marked a huge turning point in the franchise: the games jumped from their old-school sprites to horribly rendered polygons, huge cinematic sequences are tossed in, and the story receives so many plot twists, that even M. Night Shyamalan would feel out done. It also marked a change in it's audience; no longer were the games only accessible to gamers, now anime and manga fans began showing in interest in the series, mostly due to the over the top character designs presented in the game. That's not to say that the game is all bad, which we'll get into shortly.
The story to the game is both simple, yet overly complex. A terrorist group known as AVALANCHE has been bombing power stations that are owned and operated by the Shinra Corporation. Preparing to go on their biggest raid yet, they hire the help of a mercenary, Cloud Strife, to watch their backs, knowing that Shinra Corp. will have something in store for them this time. However, as time passes, things get complicated as a flower girl named Aeris (Aerith in the original Japanese) gets thrown into the middle of the fray.
Along the way, things begin to get even more complicated, as a renegade member of SOLDIER, Shinra's private first class military, decides to go on a killing spree at the same time as AVALANCHE fails a raid against the Shinra headquarters. Now the story of the game is no longer to stop the planet killing corporation, but to save the world from an unmatched swordsman who wields a six-foot sword. I wont say too much more, but we start getting into crazy mind-f**k territory from here on, and most of it isn't done right.
The characters themselves are all spread out in terms of race and background, but many of them are either stereo-types, or just unbearable to deal with. There's Barret, the only black guy in the game, and he swears constantly and acts ghetto non-stop. Yuffie, an obnoxious ninja who is ALWAYS trying to steal you s**t, though admittedly a character that I have a soft spot for. Not to mention our main hero himself, Cloud, who is virtually a puppet for the entire game, and his only redeeming quality is he's the only character that can match Sephiroth in the ability to wield a giant sword, only Cloud's is as wide as it is long. (Compensation much?)
But how is the game play you ask? Well, FFVII follows up on some of the principles brought in from FFVI: the limit break system returns in full glory, as now characters have full tiers of limits to learn and utilize in combat, which vary drastically from character to character, which will influence your three-man party choices. Also a returning concept, is the ability to learn spells with every character, however instead of learning them from summons, the characters will be able to harness the power of magic from crystals (because what's a Final Fantasy game without crystals?) which need to be equipped to your characters through their weapons and accessories. Battles are still conducted with the ATB system, and overall hasn't changed much. The game actually shines here, as combat is fast, and the difficulty spikes are appropriately placed. It never gets too challenging, but stays just challenging enough to keep you focused on what you're doing.
But how does the presentation stack up? Well, the graphics didn't even look that great back then, and they sure as hell haven't held up to today. Any character models outside of (most) cinematics are blocky polygons that make everyone look like Popeye the Sailor Man. Inside battle, we get semi-realistic character models, and mostly well designed monsters. The cinematics themselves are done very well for most part, as they constantly try to push this new technology to the limits (and falls short every time). The musical score on the other hand is very well done, with each piece being easily recognizable. The music is so well done that like many other scores from games, it constantly gets fan remakes and remixes, not to mention has been performed in live orchestras several times.
Ultimately, this game is, well, average. Sure, back in the day this thing was gold for raging weeabo's and RPG fans alike, but looking back on it with a critical eye, the flaws the game are just endless. The characters are mostly just given roles to play out, and rarely act outside of them. The only characters that really get any true character development are Cloud and ironically enough Cait Sith, and really the final boss fight of the game was both climatic and anti-climatic at the same time. Not to mention the ending of the game, which makes absolutely no sense what so ever. But still, this game can be enjoyable at parts, and the controls are spot on. It's not broken in any real sense, however it's really not trying to do anything new either.
I give Final Fantasy VII on the Playstation, a 5/10.
