RPG Diary

Final Fantasy VII

Final Fantasy VII is hugely popular, but I've never actually completed it before. As a child, I got about halfway before I abandoned it for some reason. I've actually always had some resentment for this game, but I'm not entirely sure why — perhaps because it has overshadowed the previous games that I had enjoyed so much as a child. Now it's time for me to finally give this game a fair chance.

Title	Final Fantasy VII
Year	1997
System	PSX
Developer	Square
Publisher	Square (US Sony )

Immediately, the game makes a great impression with the smooth transition from the intro FMV, to a little cutscene, and into the first battle. FMVs are used with great effect in this game and it's a big improvement over the previous console generation. However, I was occasionally frustrated with the 3D maps because it was occasionally difficult to walk where I wanted to go. (The game predates the analog DualShock controller.)

Moving even further from high fantasy and doubling down on the steampunk style, the dystopian city of Midgar is such a memorable and iconic setting. The prologue in Midgar is so long that I thought the entire game would occur there — I remember being surprised the first time I saw the world map. Personally, I found the Shinra corporation a much more interesting opponent than Sephiroth, so I was disappointed when they became less important for a large portion of the game. Compared to previous villains, Sephiroth is elusive and enigmatic — it's unclear what his goals are for a long time and he barely interacts with the party. On the other hand, Shinra is a more traditional villain that directly engages the party on multiple occasions and I think the Sector 7 plate drop is one of the most evil events in the series.

The story in this game is highly memorable for its many twists. In particular, Cloud's personal arc felt so unique and unconventional. The game even ends on a cliffhanger without clearly explaining final outcome — the planet survives, but it's ambiguous whether mankind has survived.

I do have a few complaints about the game. I thought the game felt a little slow for most of disc 1. The first couple events are interweaved with a bunch of exposition, introducing characters and Midgar. However, after leaving Midgar it feels like the party is just aimlessly wandering across the map in search of Sephiroth for no particularly clear reason. I began to lose interest here and this may be why I abandoned the game before. Thankfully, once the story finally picks up it gets really interesting and I had no problem finishing it.

I was not a fan of the materia system. Early on, materia is in short supply, so I was constantly juggling them between party members which was annoying. However, by mid-game it honestly felt like most of the materia were useless anyway and I wonder whether it was even worth the effort to train them (especially since many materia reduce strength and HP). There are exceptions: Enemy Skill is hugely overpowered, and the infamous Knight of the Round is possibly the most gamebreaking ability I've ever used in any game. I actually decided to stop using it because I felt that it was ruining the game!

Overall, I enjoyed this game much more this time than I did on my first abandoned attempt. I'm happy I finally beat it so I can now fully understand all the references to such a famous game.

After completing a game, I add it to my overall enjoyment ranking which orders the games I've completed from those I most enjoyed to those I least enjoyed. It's a tossup with Final Fantasy VI. Both games had great plots but suffered from some less interesting moments. I'll give the advantage to the game that finishes stronger: Final Fantasy VII.