Final Fantasy VII - PlayStation

The Final Fantasy franchise wasn't a major success in the United States. Role playing games (RPGs for short) were seen as a niche genre, as more simplistic, action-oriented games like Super Mario Bros. and The Legend of Zelda were more popular in the American market. It was hard to ask ADD-stricken American kids to dedicate hour after hour after hour to numeric-based battle schemes. After all, why would kids play a game that employed mathematics when they got enough of that at school? And as epic, intricate, and engrossing the games' plots may have been, it was hard to take them seriously when they were rendered in cute 8-bit or 16-bit sprites. But when Final Fantasy VII crossed the Pacific and reached American shores in 1997, all that changed.Moving from the 2D landscape of the Super Nintendo to the 3D realm of the Sony PlayStation, it looked like gaming technology was finally catching up with the Final Fantasy series' broader storytelling approach. Sony launched a promotional campaign that emphasized Final Fantasy VII's impressive new visuals and epic scope, presenting the game as more of a cinematic experience that even surpassed anything Hollywood had to offer.And the television commercials and magazine ads were right. Sprawling across three discs, Final Fantasy VII drops you into the role of Cloud Strife, a spiky-haired mercenary with a murky past, hired by resistance group Avalanche, who set out to take down the Shinra Electric Company, a powerful energy conglomerate and de facto world government. Shinra has been sapping Mako, a refined form of the planet's life force called the Lifestream, from the ground and using it as an energy source. Shinra is searching for The Promised Land, a mythical Mako-rich land to further bolster their power over the world, but the members of Avalanche believes that Shinra's constant siphoning of Mako is slowly killing the planet and want to bring down Shinra before it's too late.But a bigger threat looms. Cloud's childhood idol, Sephiroth, the former leader of Shinra's elite SOLDIER warriors, resurfaces after a five-year disappearance. Believing himself to be the son of Jenova, an alien creature mistaken for a member of a powerful ancient tribe called the Cetra, Sephiroth sets out to express his superiority over humanity by initiating a plan that will give him total power over the planet and fulfill what he believes is his birthright. Summoning a meteor to crash into the planet, he plans to merge with the thriving Lifestream as it attempts to heal its massive wound, turning him into a god with complete control over the Lifestream and all living things. And as Cloud, you travel the globe with several colorful companions and unlikely allies, simultaneously trying to thwart Shinra's efforts and find a way to stop Sephiroth from devastating the planet, and uncover the truth behind Cloud's own fractured past along the way.Final Fantasy VII is a game, but it's also a game changer. It boasts an immersive globetrotting tale, striking imagery, iconic characters, stirring soundtrack composed by master Nobuo Uematsu, addictive minigames and sidequests, and groundbreaking graphics that utilize full motion video (FMVs) as both a storytelling tool and as nearly seamless transitions from one scene to the next.Final Fantasy VII is praised, but it is also derided. Some gamers deem it "overrated", stating that VII's gameplay wasn't as complex and its story wasn't as deep in comparison to other games within the genre that they consider to superior, like Final Fantasy VI or Chrono Trigger. And though VII's visuals were cutting-edge for its time, the blocky CGI renderings make Final Fantasy VII look rather outdated compared to most recent games. But one cannot argue the game's affect on the business as a whole. Some liken Final Fantasy VII's impact on the gaming world with the original Star Wars' impact on movies. Squaresoft (now Square Enix) upped the ante for all future video games with Final Fantasy VII, challenging them to match its standards and presentation. Squaresoft (now Square Enix) has also been forced to top themselves with each new Final Fantasy installment since, but they have yet to recapture the magic that made Final Fantasy VII such a massive phenomenon that continues even to this day.

To start out with, if you are going to buy this game, do NOT bother buying it new; $249 is a lot of money, and even though I could pay that, I'd rather pay 10% of that and get it used (which I did do).Pros:Has beautiful CGI cutscenes, that look better than the in-game cutscenes of Final Fantasy X (in some ways)Has fun gameplay (aside from the mini-games), and will keep you hooked for hoursHas great music, and will keeped you hooked into the game for hours, even if the gameplay doesn't, which it shouldHas an even better storyline, and like Final Fantasy X, if for some reason you hate the gameplay and the music (which is a hard thing to do), the story should keep you glued to your TV set with controller in handHas an easy 30+ hour completion time, without doing the side quests, ideal for those that like lots of gameplay timeHas good player customization (with what you call "Materia"), but not nearly as good as Final Fantasy X (although if you thought it was too time consuming in Final Fantasy X, this is much faster)The battle speed can be set as slow or fast as you want, with many settings in betweenCons:This game has a somewhat high encounter rate; if you're just playing this game for the story, you may want to consider using a cheat code for no random battles or something, as you'll be spending huge amounts of time with the random battlesThe graphics outside of the battles are very awful, using low polygon levelsThe graphics inside of the battles aren't too bad, but still leave a lot to be desiredIf you have much in the way of scratches on your discs, namely where the CGI cutscenes happen to be, look forward to the game going into an eternal freeze, and not being able to do anything about it, except try it on your PS2 or PS3If lots of extreme "French" language bother you, you may not want to play this game, as two of your main characters use these words a LOT and other side characters do as wellThis game comes with 3 discs, so if you are too lazy to get off your rear end after so many hours of play, to switch the discs, then this game is not for you. Fortunately you really only switch twice.If you are a casual gamer, and not willing to spend lots of extra time to level up, and are not really good at RPGs, this game may not be for you, as it can be quite hard sometimesThis game uses the Active Time Battle (ATB), like Final Fantasy IV - VI. It is fun, but from Final Fantasy IV - IX, it begins to dull. I personally like the Conditional Turn-Based Battle (CTB) more, which can be found in Final Fantasy X, as it leaves room for more strategy, and faster battles, without worrying about the running time clock. However, it is still fun, and will give you hours of fun gameplay.The mini-games are, at best, meh. They really aren't all that fun, and there are a lot that are mandatory.A lot of people say this game is really sad and that they cried a lot; while this may be true, you'll likely be crying more in Final Fantasy X.The save-points in this game are far and few between. Don't play this if you have only 10 minutes before you have to leave for work or school. Also, the save-points don't restore your party's HP and MP, so you'll have to load up on costly items.Summary:This is a really fun game, with a great storyline, and a great music soundtrack, with stunning CGI cutscenes. However, it does have a lot of flaws, but not enough that it should keep you from playing this game. It is easily in my top 10 list of favorite games, and should be in yours also.

One of the Best Games in the World !

I wanted this game so badly for years, so I finally just went for it. I heard it was one of the best games ever made, and it is true. I actually beat it today and am so happy. It was made in 1997 and still competes with games made today. It has a great story and some of the best characters ever. I got so attached to these characters. I won't get into too much detail because other reviewers already did a good job explaining that, but it truly is a great game. The graphics are fine for an old game, and I find the character design very charming. The game is really fun, too. I just couldn't stop playing, I always was so excited to play more and see what would happen next. I even knew a good amount of what would happen ahead of time because of what I had read and seen, and it was still exciting. There is also a lot to do. After about 40 hours, I still haven't done everything.I have a few things I want to add. If you're wondering if it works well on a PS2. Yes, perfectly. And one more thing. I bought the game used, not greatest hits, and it had trouble because of the condition it was in, so I bought a new copy that is the greatest hits version. The older one comes with a case that is very annoying because it is really hard to get disc 2 out. I was worried about having to bend the disc to get it out. I would highly suggest buying the greatest hits version because the case is made better. All of the discs come out easily, so no disc bending.So in short, if you want to see what all the fuss is about, buy it and see. I loved it.