Why does everyone love FFVII?

[RnAoDm]

For me it was revolutionary. At the time i had not played a game like it. My experience of RPGs was quite limited to things like Diablo on PC. So it seemed completely new and interesting. The battle system, building yourself up and fighting stronger enemies, the story, comic moments including cross dressing for example. Even the death of one of a certain someone, i remember that scene so well when the ball bounces down into the water(vague to not spoil anything). Spent so much time playing it through over and over.

Now though i get bored of all the final fantasy games, i still get and play them but never manage to get to the end before moving to something else. I have the "more of the same" bug whereby everything they add has been seen somewhere already and because of that it gets tedious quicker, especially the grind to level up

 

[manicfoot]

Its not just nostalgia for me. FFVII is one of the few games of the 90's that I feel has grown with me. I can play it as an adult and see it differently to when I was a kid. Because of this I feel a deep sense of reward for playing it again. I absolutely love the backstories for all the characters. Especially Nanaki. Plus the story is still relevant today...

 

[JoshJ]

It was one of the first games that I sank 58+ hours into, and one of the first that I played for more than an hour at a time. I spent an entire summer holiday playing it, so like VIII it's just a special game for me.

 

[Cuniculus]

I think that the haters are only haters because everyone likes it. It's more popular to try to be edgy then it is to actually break down and agree it's a good game.

I hate this argument so much that if it were a person, I gut it, wrap its intestines around its neck, and strangle it with all of my might.

That being said (angrily), I couldn't get into any Final Fantasy games.
Is VII the one where the protagonist has a monkey tail? Because that's the one I played, and I just found the combat too boring to go on.

Sorry, I irrationally hate things too, and not always because they are simply cool. Just saying that this seems to be the case with FFVII is all.

And no, this is the one that FF Advent Children was made after.

 

[R.O.]

It's most western gamer's first RPG experience. Mines was Suikoden thank the Lord. FFVII was good at the time and the first disc still stands up to the test of time. But after you leave the main city area and a short stint in Nibelheim, you might as well turn the game off. The mini games are the only fun thing to do.

I get the feeling that the end product wasn't what Square was shooting for. It was far from being a satisfying experience. The story is a direct rip off of Phantasy Star II. At some point, they just got lazy and decided to half ass it but people still loved it because of the graphics and it was the first rpg they played.

And the main problem is that it's not a true role playing game. All the roles are picked out for you. Making your own Cloud is not an option you are stuck with a schizo mental case for hours upon hours. Nothing you do influences the game's story. Definitely not the best game evar.

 

[Sir Ollie]

One of the first RPG'S I ever played was Suikoden (and still one of my favorite games) I remember playing FFVII its good but I prefered VIII and IX the story and gameplay miles better then VII.

I think the main reason for everyone starting to love VII again was Advent Children, I fucking hated that film a hour and half of complete crap.

Anyone else hate Advent Children because I do!

 

[Syntax Error]

I... did not enjoy it. I was able to ignore graphics enough to play it through all the way even though I was hating every moment of it (I was borrowing it and I have to finish it). The story was dull, the characters one dimensional, the combat was standard for the age so can't knock it for that, cutscenes were too long, materia system was broken, needed a strategy guide for some of it, sidequests were either pointless, not worth the effort, or barely alluded to which also required said strategy guide, the final boss fights were underwhelming, longer than it needed to be, you only used like 3 people the entire game, and extremely cliche.

It was well appreciated at the time mostly because it was a 3d Final Fantasy. The first one, in fact. We may never get the same effect FF7 had, because it's hard to be "amazed" by the jump in graphics quality nowadays.

That or

Two words that perhaps made Final Fantasy so insanely popular among the Asian folks:

Tifa.
Hentai.

 

[Ken_J]

Nestalga, it was one of the first 3D games of it's time and thats what people remember. Another example of this phenomina is 2001: a Space Odessey sure for it's time it captivated people with it's effects and sound but I recently tried to watch it and I turned it off 30 minutes in because all I saw was special effects, classical music, and very little plot develpment.

And you can say it was because it had a deep plot, setting and character but if you condense them the kind of sound retarted.
E.g. The hero Cloud is just an emo kid who goes off his zoloft(or however you spell it) and joined an ecoterrorist cell lead by Mr.

 

[jcomer87]

it was fun at the time ?

 

[ryustar427]

The PS1 and the N64 were most people's first exposure to 3D games, and it was something that just blew gamers away. FFVII was a launch title for the PS1, and it was likely one of the first games they got to play in 3D. It might not be a good game in everyone's minds, but when it was released, it brought with it the excitement of being the first 3D final fantasy game.

In short, just compare the graphics of FF7 to FF6, and you'll have your answer.

 

[PrinceMarth]

To me it was a breath of fresh air. Not the graphics (though they were amazing at the time) For me it was the materia system. The combinations of materia, the way your characters grew. Over all it was a great system as opposed to, you level up and learn this move at level x. This character's only purpose is to do x, y, and z.

Now I've played Most of the final fantasies (1,2,3,4,6,7,8,9,10,11,12), but I can tell you which ones stood out to me. 3, 4, 7, and 10. The others were good just not as good as the others in my opinion. (Note I hated 8. Stock system was terrible, GF system was a good idea but then stock ugh screw stock) If I had to choose a final fantasy to reign over them all it'd probably Final Fantasy Tactics Advance. Short but really freaking good. Couple of design flaws but really good.

 

[CloudTidusVaan]

Sephiroth. Nuff said

 

[Zukonub]

FFVIII = best in the series.

 

[lumenadducere]

Though, against the fun side of the argument: Yes, it might have been fun, but come on... really THAT fun? From what I have seen of the game, you pick a move, run over, hit the person, they hit you with the move, repeat.

How could this possibly be more fun then any game made by the current standards of gaming? Sure, it was fun back when it came out and it was compared to what was out at the time... but it can't honestly be considered a great game for these times.

Well, by that argument none of the current FF games (save maybe 12) would be fun either. Nor would games like Lost Odyssey or Blue Dragon, or heck even KotOR or the Baldur's Gate series, as those feature much of the same "choose attack, wait for it to happen".

For most turn-based RPGs the fun lies in the strategy of the fights. Not the normal everyday encounters you hit while leveling, but the bosses and the special enemies at the end of the game. Also the constant discovery of new equipment and leveling up is slightly addictive.

For others, it's the story - there are naysayers, but the storyline of FFVII was pretty solid. Some enjoy it because it was the first RPG they played and/or the first FF game they played, and since they had no prior experience it very quickly rose to the top.

For me it was a mix. I played it about a year or so after it came out, and it was my first RPG so I was pretty impressed with everything. I have yet to be as impressed with a story from a FF game (though VI and Vivi's sub-plot from IX come close).

 

[midpipps]

I think the reason I liked it so much was the materia system just worked so well. Tons of side things to do. I just think the characters were memorable the boss fights were epic. The amound of options for loading out your characters was nice but not overly complicated or too numerous to actually find a good mix. Admittedly it was the first game that I connected with the characters enough to cry when Aerith died and feel so much hatred for sepiroth. There has been very few games that actually stirred deep emotions in me and this was one of them. Was not my first RPG but is one of my fondest RPG memories in the top ten at least. Also could be the fact that I had 150 hours into the game by completion time so that is like a couple of months of memories in gaming that equal that game. I actually am playing through it again on PS3 and psp and am having a blast with it all over again.

 

[Zykon TheLich]

I don't, I can't stand it. I bought it when it came out because all the Playstation mags were raving about it.
Played it for a little while until I realised 'hang on, I'm not actually enjoying playing this game, I have no desire to progress any further' and then stopped.

I didn't like the gameplay. The graphical style annoyed me (this comming from someone who liked manga at the time). The story didn't pull me in at all, I really didn't give a crap about whatever these wierd giant headed little freaks were doing or trying to accomplish.

 

[gustcq]

Just because it is one of the best if not the best game ever, since the start of next gen consoles. Super mario RPG for Snes was nice, then FFVII took over.