Final Fantasy VII

I guess I'll do this. Very similar problems as VI. The characters perform too similarly in combat. They're all just nukes. There's barely any strategic interplay between them. You can also only have three of them out at once, which curtails the game's nuance even further. Just look at all the variety of V for instance, and the extent to which this game is just "less" in practically every sense of the word is really apparent.

From a storytelling perspective this so bad it's funny. The characters are all random goofballs. You don't travel anywhere with intention. You just wander the face of the earth until you stumble upon events that move you forward through the game. It's like at any given moment the characters could have decided to just stop wandering around and that would have been the end of the story. Everything's written backwards. Nothing connects to anything, events instigate themselves, the characters are along for the ride, etc.

And it's ugly.

Final Fantasy 7 seems to be a franchise defining game. All games that came before seem to be tied together very closely in terms of themes, and gameplay for the most part. Games after seem to be focused on varying mechanics as well as exploring more futuristic settings. Certainly story and world building has been an important factor in every game for the franchise, and I would argue that is the aspect that FF7 does better than almost any other game in the franchise.

Gameplay wise it is pretty similar to its predecessor. Turn-based battles with each party member being able to learn any form of magic and super attacks being unleashed now and then. It's a system that works well, and while the franchise would eventually move on or add some bells or whistles to the format, I think it works well in this simple system and allows combat to be more focused and fast. The player also explores towns, buildings, and a world map by foot, boat, submarine, and airship. Again, it's a format seem in FF6, but the new graphical upgrades with the PS1 make it feel new.

While We're on the subject, this is indeed the first 3D entry into the franchise. While the models are fun and the new freedom of movement is certainly used, I feel that the game's best aspects are the static backgrounds and details. This is one of the ways I feel that FF7's world is built and explored so well - little bits of text or implied story are scattered all about, letting you fill in the gaps yourself.

Story wise... it's epic, but confused. I would say the game's story was so big it could have been split, however, this being a trope to come later, FF7 does a good job delivered a few truncated beats that don't always flow too well together, but certainly deliver the emotional goods. Following Cloud and co. is plenty of fun on their quest to save the world, but the added diversions don't seem to tie together as well as in other entries such as FF9, 6, and eve 12.

This review is pretty short, for a few reasons: FF7 is the most talked about FF game. Many don't feel it's the best in the series, or even in the top 5, but I feel it has certainly been one of the most influential and certainly the most talked about. It's legacy lives on to this day, and for all the bits that some may find broken or un-needed, I say embrace its purity and explore one of the best games released on the Playstation.