It was NEVER the "Greatest game ever made". I've said that since I first stumbled onto the internet and it's an argument I will (in futile fashion) make till I die.
FF7 was simply the most POPULAR JRPG of its time, and given how much the JRPG market has shrank over the last 5 years, it's safe to say that its importance is grossly exaggerated today.
Time has not been kind to Squaresoft's perceived Opus.
So, now that I've killed about 25 minutes, I'm posting this and running off to class.
Toodles!
FF7 was simply the most POPULAR JRPG of its time, and given how much the JRPG market has shrank over the last 5 years, it's safe to say that its importance is grossly exaggerated today.
Time has not been kind to Squaresoft's perceived Opus.
That been said, it's one of the very few jrpgs that does foreshadowing very well; it's one of those very few games I've gone back and played as an adult where (most of) the story still stands up in the details. The future FF titles were either trying to be too vague for the purposes of dropping a plot twist, or made no sense at all(what was the point of the plot for FF8 again? Actually, what was the plot PERIOD?).
I loved the division between cyberpunk and modern tech it set at the time (magic being manufactured and sold in equip-able modules rather than being this totally vague, misunderstood force). The comically evil corporation replaces the comically evil empire, with Shin-Ra being this giant evil conglomerate that's still made of decent people; people who are blissfully unaware of the damage they're doing to the world around them.
The game is not without problems. Several characters are token in nature or do absolutely nothing for the plot short of their ability to kill time.
The antagonist loses a LOT of his punch midway through the game when you realize what he's trying to accomplish (and how contrived/stupid it is in practice) or the fact that you haven't actually been following him all along, but the mind-controlled body of his "half-mother".
Of course, for the last 10 years, the Legion of Internet Jaggoffs that practically reinvented the term "fanboy/fangirl" will insist that Sephiroth is the Ultimate Badass because he has a giant katana, dresses in black leather, and has long hair.
...sorry, started to rant there a bit.
On the brighter side, Tifa isn't the token pair of bouncing tits 95% of the internet makes her out to be [sub](safe-search is your friend...safe-search is your friend...safe-search is your friend...)[/sub]; she's shockingly important to the plot, and the game tries hard to subtly show her conflict because what she knows could potentially (and DOES) break Cloud's mind.
...Of course, this is all GROSSLY overshadowed by the perceived love triangle with Aeris and the most overrated not-spoiler in gaming history, so most people tend to overlook this fact.
My problem with FF7 isn't with the (misused term #2) "emo" protagonist (which he isn't. The guy has severe psychosis); it's with the oddball pacing of the title in general. In the span of one hour, we go from an arena fight at the world's most ludicrously designed casino to investigating a temple that will kill you if you try to take the McGuffin away from it. This shows up later between the snowboarding minigame and the equivalent to "Land's End". The transitions between segments can be ludicrously jarring while the difficulty bounces around before settling on "pathetically easy".
Pacing and story issues aside, the game was a technical marvel for 1997. However, it also marked the beginning of the end for Squaresoft's proper usage of the term "role". See, every character in FF7 is identical due to Materia being modular. This wouldn't be a problem (FF6 used Magicite to enhance already established roles) except that without differentiation between the lot, I have no incentive to use any character except those the plot isn't shitting all over, or the ones that look coolest.
FF9 briefly lapsed into sanity before finally pulling the plug on character role altogether (FFX International has all the characters starting in the center of the Sphere grid, before you make the argument).
I loved the division between cyberpunk and modern tech it set at the time (magic being manufactured and sold in equip-able modules rather than being this totally vague, misunderstood force). The comically evil corporation replaces the comically evil empire, with Shin-Ra being this giant evil conglomerate that's still made of decent people; people who are blissfully unaware of the damage they're doing to the world around them.
The game is not without problems. Several characters are token in nature or do absolutely nothing for the plot short of their ability to kill time.
(Red XIII is probably the worst of the lot, eliminate every scene he's in, or is referenced to and notice how it doesn't change anything. It makes no plot holes nor does his involvement extend the lore of the world they occupy.)
In the end, he's just a token furry thrown into the title because he looks cool.
In the end, he's just a token furry thrown into the title because he looks cool.
The antagonist loses a LOT of his punch midway through the game when you realize what he's trying to accomplish (and how contrived/stupid it is in practice) or the fact that you haven't actually been following him all along, but the mind-controlled body of his "half-mother".
Of course, for the last 10 years, the Legion of Internet Jaggoffs that practically reinvented the term "fanboy/fangirl" will insist that Sephiroth is the Ultimate Badass because he has a giant katana, dresses in black leather, and has long hair.
...sorry, started to rant there a bit.
On the brighter side, Tifa isn't the token pair of bouncing tits 95% of the internet makes her out to be [sub](safe-search is your friend...safe-search is your friend...safe-search is your friend...)[/sub]; she's shockingly important to the plot, and the game tries hard to subtly show her conflict because what she knows could potentially (and DOES) break Cloud's mind.
...Of course, this is all GROSSLY overshadowed by the perceived love triangle with Aeris and the most overrated not-spoiler in gaming history, so most people tend to overlook this fact.
My problem with FF7 isn't with the (misused term #2) "emo" protagonist (which he isn't. The guy has severe psychosis); it's with the oddball pacing of the title in general. In the span of one hour, we go from an arena fight at the world's most ludicrously designed casino to investigating a temple that will kill you if you try to take the McGuffin away from it. This shows up later between the snowboarding minigame and the equivalent to "Land's End". The transitions between segments can be ludicrously jarring while the difficulty bounces around before settling on "pathetically easy".
Pacing and story issues aside, the game was a technical marvel for 1997. However, it also marked the beginning of the end for Squaresoft's proper usage of the term "role". See, every character in FF7 is identical due to Materia being modular. This wouldn't be a problem (FF6 used Magicite to enhance already established roles) except that without differentiation between the lot, I have no incentive to use any character except those the plot isn't shitting all over, or the ones that look coolest.
FF9 briefly lapsed into sanity before finally pulling the plug on character role altogether (FFX International has all the characters starting in the center of the Sphere grid, before you make the argument).
So, now that I've killed about 25 minutes, I'm posting this and running off to class.
Toodles!
