Having read so much about the Final Fantasy series, and never having played any of the games, I got myself Final Fantasy VII, several graphical mods so it would look nice(I don’t much care about graphics, but since they were there, why not?) , and having spent the best part of weekend setting up all the mods and finally getting the game to run, I was very underwhelmed. The story telling(I made it upto after they dropped the plate on Avalanche) was uninspired and in-your-face, the characters were immature, finding your way around many of the maps was either frustratingly difficult or ridiculously easy. The combat was a huge let down, feeling quite dull and repetitive. When did you play this game? Did you like it then? Would you like it now?
You’re about 10% of the way through - you have a lot more to explore. That’s a really draggy portion of the game, things get a LOT better once you get to the overworld. (And better yet once you get your airship (sorry - that’s not a spoiler, there’s an airship in EVERY FF game, isn’t there?).)
But you’re not entirely wrong - the story is not all that it’s made out to be. I have very fond memories of playing the game, because it was the first huge sprawling game I’d ever played. Before that, the biggest game I had was Zelda II, which isn’t even close. I’m not sure I’d like FFVII now beyond the nostalgia. Collecting and leveling my materia was certainly fun, and getting KOTRT was pretty kick-ass at the time - sure, I’d like doing that again. And building up a perfect materia combination was a fun little gaming accomplishment. And you haven’t really added that many people to your party yet - there’s all sorts of fun in mixing that up.
All the old classics are terrible to virgin eyes. No game ages well. It’s their nature.
Except Tetris.
I have a secret: I played the game when it was new and it wasn’t all that great then.
I’m siding with you and not with Palooka; FF7 is mostly overpraised - it was a lot of people’s “first kiss” of big, sprawling, character driven games, and it’s easy to impress people when they don’t really have a standard of comparison.
Not all games age poorly either - graphics frequently age poorly (3D more than 2D in this regard) but these forums are full of stories of people going back and playing old games for the first time and deeply enjoying them. Hell, I submit that Chrono Trigger, or Phantasy Star IV, both chosen as off the cuff examples of games that are even older than FF7, hold up much better by comparison.
Full disclosure though: While I have an extremely high tolerance for ‘meh’ graphics and tedious turn based combat, FF7 completely failed to draw me in at all when I tried it a couple of years ago. As a counterpoint, my wife still occasionally plays it, but even she admits it’s not actually GOOD. It’s more like a guilty pleasure of sorts.
It’s just kind of a mediocre game, on balance, though when it came out I thought it was the most amazing thing I’d ever seen in my life. I still have my copy for nostalgia’s sake. Music’s genuinely good though, by any standard.
As I said in the thread about videogames with good storytelling, FF7 has a great plot but very muddled half-assed storytelling. The translation is pretty poor, and lots of important plot points are hidden and difficult to find without a walkthrough. And while graphics aren’t important, FF7’s graphics are terrible and have aged more poorly than any other game I can think of. (Lots of older games, especially sprite-based ones, keep their own sort of charm, but FF7’s 5-polygon characters are pretty bad in a lot of respects).
I’ll agree with you on the map design - most of the time it’s pretty simple, and then 5% of the time there will be something completely hidden in a cave you were somehow supposed to deduce from the background. Personally, it doesn’t bug me, but if you’re the sort who prefers western-style RPGs and their more exploration-based gameplay, I can see how it’s a turn off. Same with the combat - it’s pretty generic JRPG style turn-based part combat, which may or may not be your thing. (And ABS systems have aged badly, since it combines all the fun of sitting there waiting for turns with none of the strategy of a real turn-based system like, say, FF Tactics).
Still, you aren’t that far into the game at all. Personally, the first part of the game up until you leave Midgar is my favorite part of the game, with the second half (after the plate falls, and you go into Shinra tower) especially standing out. If you’re not liking it by the time you leave Midgar, I’d wager it’s just not your thing. (The story does really open up a lot and takes on more levels after this, but as I said, it’s clunky and requires multiple playthroughs to “get”).
Personally, I still like it, and play through it every couple years or so, though I freely admit part of the appeal is the nostalgia. I still think there’s a lot of aspects that hold up on it’s own merits though - great soundtrack; mostly likeable characters and moments; the combat hits that sweet spot of simplistic but fun in its own way for me (especially the materia combining).
It was ok. Not the greatest game.
When I first played I thought it was at the time an average FF title (certainly above average now that we’re up to 14 plus all the related and unrelated side titles) but enjoyable enough.
Then I hit the end of the first disk (I think everybody who’s ever played knows which part) and there was no way I was going to drop the game. Nostalgia certainly plays its part in how it’s enjoyed.
I’ll agree with everybody on graphics. FF6’s graphics hold up better perhaps because you don’t expect much from sprites.
The materia system is a bit dated but it was a fun attempt to differentiate characters in a new way (for the era). Unfortunately, it also meant the characters were mostly interchangeable (a problem FF8 suffered as well and both FF10 and FF12 in their late games to some extent).
This isn’t true at all. I just played the original X-Com a year ago, and it was one of the best gaming experiences of my life. And I don’t like Tetris 
I don’t know much about the plot since I haven’t made it far into the game, but that’s why I also specifically noted storytelling. It’s just not drawing me in.
I got a lot of graphics mods, so they don’t seem terrible to me. Maybe vanilla, the game would be much worse.
The combat is the absolute worst part of the game for me. It’s not true turn based, which may have allowed for some degree of fun. Instead, it combines real time and turn based mechanics in a way that seems to kill any of the joy of either. I’m actually going to give up on the game because of the combat feeling so tedious. Thanks for the responses, all.
FF7 is nearly unplayable and I’m a huge fan of the FF series.
It’s a crap game. It was a crap game then, and it’s a crap game now.
Quit before you’ve lost more than your penny. Don’t lose a pound.
While it’s true that sprites generally age better than 3D, that’s not really the issue with the FF7 graphics. The issue with FF7’s graphics is that they were ALWAYS BAD. The backgrounds and stuff aren’t terrible, but the “We used 14 polygons to make this ridiculous chibi model with popeye arms” character models were terrible even when the game came out. Actually, almost all the graphics from original Playstation games are terrible, because the hardware was such complete crap - Sega Saturn games from the same time period often (though not always!) manage to look better, but generally, the original Playstation era had AWFUL visuals, to the point where I was really, REALLY questioning why anyone would WANT 3D graphics at point.
2D sprite art from that era (and the preceeding 16 bit era) is often a work of art however, and can be timeless. FF7 will always be ugly. (Well, without mods, I suppose.)
I was in 9th grade when FF7 first came out. I loved it at the time. I distinctly remember being at high school football practice and wishing I was at home playing FF7. I’m pretty sure it couldn’t hold my attention now.
I don’t think the game was all that bad.
Ok, the graphics were always terrible, but it was Square’s first foray into 3D, so I forgive them that.
The storyline… well, it’s not one for the ages, but it’s a hell of a lot better than what we got in 8 or 5 (or 4).
Gameplay wise, though, you’re just scratching the surface. You haven’t even gotten out of the prolog of the game. The materia system was one I liked (it’s a hell of a lot better than the Junction system in 8 or the tedium of the sphere grid in 10), but it has the downside of making your characters rather generic.
If you don’t like Turn-based RPGs, well, then you’re not going to like any of the Final Fantasies. It’s just part of the genre.
I think the game had some great one liners (especially once you get Cid in your party), plenty of actually interesting minigames (unlike the stupid card game in 8… can you tell I really dislike 8?)
There were a lot of options in how to play - you could use magic almost exclusively by disc 2, or you could play around with summons, or use all that yellow materia to get crazy abilities, or just equip a lot of HP up and Str Up materia and bruiser your way through things.
There’s a lot of optional sidequests, that I think add a lot to the game.
I’m not saying it was game of the decade or even the best in the FF series (I would give that to 6), but I don’t think it was a bad or even mediocre game overall. If you don’t like the style (steampunk magic) or the genre (turn based RPG), then nothing in the FF series is for you. But if neither of those are your stopping point, at least make it to the second disc before trashing the game. What you’ve got now is like trashing tetris for being too easy after passing level 0.
I have to admit, I never really liked the battle mechanic either. It seems to me that it only really works for strategies like “spam attack whenever possible” and “use all your spells on the big boss.” Nothing more complex. That would be fine if the game were designed for that, like modern games usually are, but it wasn’t. It was designed like a standard turn-based RPG, but it doesn’t give you enough time to think about your moves. The only strategy is in the materia, and I’ve never really liked those types of systems.
It’s not like FFX or FFX-2 where it usually doesn’t matter what strategy you use.
You can always turn off ATB if you don’t like it and go to a straight turn-based system. That said, I thought one of the big problems with FF7 (and it’s true for most JRPGs) was the random encounters could get very old very fast.
Also, the unskippable summoning spells. I swear, you could W-Summon Knights of the Round, Mime it twice, and go make a sandwich and be back just in time for your next set of moves. Those unskippable spells got worse before they got better. I hated FF8 for a number of reasons, one of which was that you were supposed to sit there and pump a button while your summoning spell was going on to increase the damage. And these things were longer than they were in FF7.
Finally! My kindred spirit! I played it all the way through once and haven’t picked it up again since. I never understood why it was so popular.
ETA: FFIV, FFVI, and FFX were miles better, in my opinion.
I’ve been playing FFs since Final Fantasy 1 on the NES, still own the original cartridge too.
FFVII was such a monumental leap in gameplay, music, length, and storytelling that it blew everything out of the water at the time. It single-handedly established RPGs as a major genre rather than a niche market in the US.
However, enjoyment of the game depends on a few things. bldysabba, what is your experience with RPGs in general? Are you more of an American RPG fan, or Japanese? Console versus PC?
If you are familiar with modern RPGs, especially American ones, FFVII may be too alien for you. You mentioned the combat was boring. Well, for most FFs, its not really about making tactical decisions. Combat is just something you have to grind through in order to get to the next plot point. Its not supposed to be too interactive at all. In fact, most FFs can be beaten just holding down the “A” button and ignoring the combat.
FF established many recurring themes in its many games (I hesitate to call them sequels because most of them have little to do with each other). Any FF game I pick up gives me a sense of nostalgic comfortableness when I hear familiar themes, ride chocobos, or talk to Cid/Sid.
Also, there are huge Japanese cultural and anime influences. In some games, characters are defined more by their jobs than personalities. The thief is usually nimble, young, quick, with a happy-go-lucky attitude and provides comic relief. There warrior is stoic and has the weight of the world on his shoulders. Secondary love interests are usually female, and usually use magic in addition to being part of some long-lost race. There’s usually a guy who fights with his hands, and a guy who uses a spear. You can usually pick those out just by looking at pictures of the characters. Part of the charm of each game is to see what they do with familiar themes and recurring motifs. Some games focus on the summoned monsters, some games focus on jobs, some games focused on specific spells or items.
I love this game, its my favorite FF. I feel it has a great balance of exposition and text versus action. Older FF games renowned for their stories usually have quick interactions and dialogue. When I replayed FFVI after playing the Playstation FFs, I noticed that the great story was summarized rather briefly, almost like I was reading the cliff notes version. Later FF games had much more capacity to hold text and were longer, so things were fleshed out more, characters given better motivation, or scenes were more impactful because they were longer and more realistic.
And then there’s the music. While I love FFVI’s music too, and many FF fans consider that the best soundtrack, there is a marked difference between what the old SNES could generate vs. the full orchestral soundtrack that was available on a CD. There was a third more tunes in VII than in VI, and they remained memorable and in better quality.
I think the storytelling is fantastic. Rebel factions, saving the world, giant evil corporation, what’s not to love? From the cute way Aeris jumps to Barret’s bombastic mannerisms and Tifa’s restrained childhood love for Cloud, I think they got a lot of emotion out of those blocky, “Popeye armed” characters. And sure, the CG backdrops may contrast sharply from the polygonal pastels of the characters, but I find that to be part of the charm.
Later on, you’ll run into another thing that I feel makes FFVII great: minigames! Whereas later games focused on one big, all-encompassing mini-game throughout the whole adventure (Triple Triad, Tetra Master, Blitzball, etc.), FFVII had a huge selection of smaller games that were almost as fun, if not more so. You’ll get to experience that later on if you keep at it and don’t give up on the gameplay. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.
[nitpick]
The original FF7 soundtrack was still basically midi and sounds it. Uematsu wasn’t confident in using the new tech just yet. The newer tech did allow for a bit more control, though, so it’s better than the old SNES could manage.
Later FF games did go orchestral though.
Several FF7 tracks were done orchestrally later but that was well after the game was released.
[/nitpick]
I’m not really sure about this at all. Or rather, I’m not sure that any of this is due to any particular virtue on the part of FF7; RPGs had been a big market in US prior - many people’s favorite SNES game was “FF3” and there were a number of other established franchises, and in fact, the departure of Squaresoft from Nintendo’s stable was a huge boost to the Playstation.
Not necessarily, while, yes, people who can’t stand JRPGs won’t like FF7, I’m a huge JRPG fan and I thought it was boring.
It didn’t USED to be that way. Early FF games, random encounters were dangerous.
I still think he should cut his losses.
I’m not sure about “virtue” but FF7 was a major release and certainly other fans, critics, and the general public thought highly of the game. Nostalgia doesn’t set in unless there’s something that connects with people in the first place. And whether or not those elements are objectively good, the things that drew those fans in the first place can be considered virtues.
It sold over a half million copies in the first couple weeks of US release. For a couple months there, more copies of FF7 were selling than PS1s. That’s a pretty big deal and can’t be explained by the general popularity of JRPGs in the US, which were a large genre but not as popular as all that.
And certainly no other FF game has gotten the same sales numbers since. FF8 had solid sales numbers but never matched its predecessor.
The massive ad campaign certainly didn’t hurt. I was already into FF games, but a lot of people who wouldn’t otherwise have played were blown away by the commercials - which featured FMVs heavily and were incredible for the era. There certainly were a lot of gamers who did not previously play JRPGs nor played them after that bought a copy of the game.
As for whether to keep playing or not, meh. We’ve all quit playing games other people thought were good and played bad games through to the end. Whether or not it’s “worth it” is going to be too subjective to determine. If this thread does show anything, it’s that it’s not universally liked, so he won’t be generally crucified by gamers for saying he never finished it.