Final Fantasy VII - Game Review

Final Fantasy VII is an amazing game. I just finished playing all the way through it for the first time. And I have a lot of thoughts on it. But above all else I enjoyed playing the game and I would recommend it to others. Also, the first section of this post is spoiler free. Let's get right into it.

A Landmark Game for the Genre

This was one of the first RPGs of its kind made in 3D. The opening cutscene is my favorite in the series. It introduces us to a bold new world, the likes of which Final Fantasy hadn't seen before. The dramatic zoom out to see the whole city was awesome, and the game's logo flashing across the screen in sync with the music was chill inducing.

3D also brought another level of immersion into the games. The characters are now able to be much more expressive. The nuance of their movements is now an important part of the story telling. Battles are much cooler as well as the participants actually jump across the screen to hit each other. Square Enix truly paved the way for future RPGs, both in 3D, but also in America.

This game popularized the RPG genre in America. Up until this game only select Final Fantasy games were released in America, resulting in a confusing numbering system. This game fixed that as it was released as Final Fantasy VII. (The last one being released in America being Final Fantasy III which was actually Final Fantasy VI.) For that alone Final Fantasy VII deserves its place in the history books.

A Deeper Story Than Before

One of the great parts of Final Fantasy VI was its vast cast of characters, each with deep emotions and connections. Final Fantasy VII takes a different approach. It focuses on a single protagonist that the player can live through. Cloud is the leader of your party for almost the entire playthrough, and as such you can learn so much about him. The story's main strength is the untangling of Cloud and Sephiroth's complex history.

I would also like to mention that this is the single best-paced story I have ever played through. There is always something important going on. There are never lulls in the pacing (like Final Fantasy VI's last act), and it does not build itself up too quickly (like Final Fantasy IX). There is a great progression from just being a part of a small terrorist group in a single sector of Midgar, to eventually leaving Midgar, then to exploring the whole world, then to fighting super weapons, and on to the final boss. It is hard to understate how good the pacing of this game's story was.

Taking Off the Rose-Colored Glasses

Now this is where I ruin the vision you and others may have of this game. Though it was a landmark game, there are some parts of it that are just unredeemable. All too often I read articles on the internet that forgive these points too easily just because the game is old. The simple fact is that these points are not issues with the game being old. They are issues with the game.

Block Characters

Do not delude yourself, the awful blocky characters were not because of hardware limitations. We see much higher resolution characters on the more complex battle screen (as opposed to a simple pre-rendered background), and in later final fantasy games. Chibi was a failed artistic choice.

Even if you argue that it assisted in more rapid development, you would have to say this part of the game was rushed. No matter how you look at it, the graphics for this game keep it from being the best game ever made.

I still concede that the switch to 3D was an overall good decision. The game is significantly more immersive than 2D game could ever be, even with its bad character models. But there are still moments where a beautifully crafted 2D sprite would have been able to express more than a generalized 3D model.

Ending Cinematic

While I praise most of the cinematics in this game and give them a pass for their age, the ending cinematic was dog-water. They try having the characters say stuff with subtitles (no voice acting), and it was just not pleasing to watch. The ending cinematic for FF VI was much better despite not being pre-rendered. And Final Fantasy IX wisely followed the rule of no dialog in cinematics unless you're willing to pay for voice actors.

Story Problems

The story still has some problems, despite the many praises it receives. (Super minor spoilers here.)

For me the biggest one was about two-thirds of the way through the game. At this point the motives of the party, and the motives of the evil Shinra corporation seem to align quite nicely as they are both trying to save the world from a greater power.

But for some reason, the party continues to work against Shinra. It basically comes down to the party not knowing what to do. Then they see Shinra doing something to save the world, assume it's bad and then go and stop it. It kind of defies logic.

Character development is also lacking in this game. Cloud and Aeris's arcs are both great, but pretty much every other character has one or two villages where you learn a little bit about them and that's it. See later sections for my opinions on them. But even Tifa just feels like a catalyst to help Cloud move forward.

Finally, the ending is quite lack luster. There is no victory lap, nor closure to any of the characters.

My Rating

I felt it was really important to point out some of the problems this game has. Unlike others on the internet I'm not nominating this as the best game ever made. But I'm still saying it's a masterpiece in its own right.

Combat

I like the combat in this game. It was definitely an improvement over Final Fantasy VI, but I still liked Final Fantasy IX's combat more. The Materia system had some good depth to it, and you can customize your characters a lot with it. I do prefer the stronger class designations, and the four person parties of Final Fantasy IX though. Moving Materia and equipment between characters was also a bit tedious sometimes.

Rating: 7.5/10

Story

I voiced a lot of complaints about the story. But it really was quite good. Sephiroth is a great villain. He was mysterious and powerful in all the right ways (unlike Kuja in FFIX). His motives were just fleshed out enough for the player to understand why he did what he did. I talk about this just a little bit more in the spoiler section.

I also like all the side characters. You encounter the Turks (Reno and Rude) multiple times throughout the game, and you also get to know a lot of people high up in the Shinra corporation. It can be a little hard to keep track of them at times. But I think the way they weave in and out of the story is done tastefully. It makes the world feel a little more organic.

It also has some great funny and weird moments. One of my favorites is when Tifa gets into a girl-slap fight with one of the top execs in Shinra. I thought it was hilarious just watching them slap each other on top of the Junon cannon for a minute.

In general, Final Fantasy VI had much higher highs and lows than Final Fantasy VII. While Final Fantasy VII was more consistent, it didn't have the same level heart wrenching moments Final Fantasy VI had.

I will say that the overall lackluster side characters, minor plot holes, and lack of a central message do bring the story down just below Final Fantasy VI's story in my eyes. But the pacing is definitely better.

Also, I had more moments (maybe six or so) in this game where I was just plopped in the overworld and I had to say “wait, where am I supposed to go”. I don't like using guides, but I had to use more for this game than FFVI or FFIX.

Rating: 8.5/10

Overall

I just couldn't bring myself to put this game above Final Fantasy VI, but it came close. The story and combat have many merits over Final Fantasy VI. But the depth of the cast and beautiful pixel art of Final Fantasy VI wins out. Final Fantasy VII still makes it to my list of favorite games of all time with an overall rating very similar to Final Fantasy VI.

Now on to the spoiler section where I talk about just a few more things I liked and disliked about the game.

Story Moments

There were a lot of moments in this game I would just like to talk about. Most of them good I would say.

The Bombing Mission

The introduction to Cloud and Barrett was awesome. He does a flip off the train, has a big freaking sword, and is a cool mercenary who just wants to get the job done.

The Honeybee Inn

This was definitely a what the freak is going on moment. We're trying to save Tifa who got abducted by some sex traffickers. Then it devolves into getting Cloud in a dress (the dresser was kinda into it for some reason) so he can get into the inn. And then somehow, he is almost selected. Then there is this scene.

Tifa is then saved, and the party proceeds to threaten Don Corneo's genitals in various ways to get him to talk. It was a really weird sequence of events. But this does add some charm to the game.

Aeris's Death

A decidedly impactful moment in the game, and possibly the worst kept secret in gaming history. What's cool about this is that she was a truly irreplaceable member of the team. There was no one else who could do the things she did.

The boss fight against Jenova right after is what really sealed the deal. There was no time to mourn, the party was forced to fight. Aeris' s theme continues to play and you're forced to fight in the trance of what just happened.

Junon's Cannon

This thing is awesome and seeing Shinra move the whole cannon to Midgar towards the end of the game shows just how vast their resources are. What a cool piece of world building. Seeing the cannon propped up on stilts above Midgar was awesome.

Cloud's True Identity

I highly recommend skipping this section if you have not yet played the game

This was probably the best part of the game for me personally. Cloud's mind is more or less ruined and Tifa goes in to help him fix it. The revelations are huge and defy the players expectations so much.

I couldn't believe it when I realized that cloud was actually just a Shinra grunt when he went back to Nibelheim. He's been living a big lie. He never made it to SOLDIER first class. He was there for all of those events, but he was not the protagonist, he was off to the side. You relive that entire part of the game from an entirely different point of view. What you thought was truth is no longer truth. And yet it still makes sense the whole way.

He knows how to help with motion sickness not because of his rank, but because he was the grunt throwing up.

He remains aloof in the town because he doesn't want anyone to know he didn't make it.

He doesn't let Tifa enter the reactor because he wanted to protect her.

President Shinra doesn't recognize him because he was nobody to be recognized.

It all makes sense, but you just weren't expecting it. Best part of the whole game. Cloud seems like a real person after this experience. And luckily the gaming community has managed to keep this secret under wraps.

Characters

There isn't going to be a ton to say here as the story mostly revolves around Cloud and Sephiroth.

Cloud

I think I've covered him pretty well. He is the anchor of the story, and he has an awesome sword.

Aeris

I played the steam version of this game, and it still uses Aeris instead of Aerith, so that's what you get. She is just super likable, and the only character that felt like a mage. All the others had to be morphed into one.

I do wonder how we were supposed to see her level 4 limits though.

Tifa

The love triangle with her, Cloud and Aeris was okay. But ultimately Tifa doesn't really have any character growth.

Barrett

Man with a gun for an arm, and he has a good little side story. He sees a little more growth than some of the other characters. Towards the end of the game he realizes that perhaps bombing reactors wasn't the best way to save the planet.

Also why does he never get to see Marlene again. This is one of the reasons the ending to this game sucks. He drops Marlene off with Aeris's mom at the start of the game. Then for the whole game he fights for Marlene. But she is never seen again.

Red XIII

He has a pretty cool story through Cosmo Canyon. And seeing him try to breed with Aeris was funny (nod to the character building of Hojo as the crazy scientist). Unfortunately, after learning that his dad wasn't a coward, he plays almost no role in the plot ever again.

Cait Sith

Didn't really use him. He was kinda just annoying and provided a plot reason for the party knowing what Shinra was doing. It would have been a lot cooler if we were able to go to Midgar and free him from Shinra at some point.

Vincent

I didn't mind him too much. He was clearly an optional character, so it was okay that he didn't have much of a story. He was just a platform for new weapons, and it worked well. From him I realized some weapons have an accuracy of 255. Using the deathblow materia with these weapons was very effective since it would still have an accuracy above 100%.

Yuffie

I liked Yuffie a lot. She was one of my mains throughout my playthrough. She was some much needed comic relief for the story (besides Barrett, his comedy got old pretty fast).

I liked talking to her on the airship since she was always sick. She usually had something funny to say.

Her side quest with Wutai was also fun. It forced you to work without your materia for part of the game. It didn't last too long so it was okay. But it forced you to do things a little differently for a while.

Cid

What a prick. All he does is berate his loving assistant. And upon realizing she was right about the oxygen tanks, all we get was a “ohh, she was right”.

I found the pilot in training on the Highwind much more entertaining. Unlike Cid you got to see him progress from level 1, all the way up to a master pilot.

Sephiroth

Some people don't like Sephiroth since he is not heavily involved in a lot of the story. I think he was involved just the right amount.

Any time someone referenced his name it was always with great reverence (or fear). You didn't need to see him to understand just how special he was.

And every time you do see him, you know he's up to no good. Even if you don't know exactly what his thought process was.

Visit to Nibelheim

I think this is a defining moment for Sephiroth. The player has him in their party as an AI controlled companion. Cloud has 140 health, and Sephiroth has over 3,000.

Cloud is supposedly the best of the best. And yet he pales in comparison to Sephiroth. He even dies multiple times in their battles, and Sephiroth just keeps reviving him. Cloud is an active hindrance to Sephiroth. And at least until he discovers his origin, Sephiroth is rather kind.

Then he learns about who he is and has no qualms destroying Nibelheim. It is in this section of the game that the player learns just how unstoppable a force Sephiroth is. This was another one of my favorite parts of the game.

As a Final Boss

Sephiroth was a great final boss. Way better than Kuja (or whatever comes after him), though maybe just behind Kefka. In general, Final Fantasy VII is an easy game. Many people complain that the final boss was not hard enough.

For me personally, it still took a couple of tries. I was satisfied with it. His final form does look pretty awesome. And the music slaps (Hearing “Sephiroth” in the soundtrack give me chills).

He does use super nova way too many times though. It was cool the first time. But then watching the same 2-minute attack six more times in the final boss fight was a little much.

Conclusion

In conclusion, I still consider Final Fantasy VII a must play. The highs aren't as high as Final Fantasy VI, but the story is so incredibly consistent that you will never want to put the controller down.

As for future games I will be playing. I think I've played the final fantasy games I want to play for now. Sea of Stars is probably my next game as I'm feeling like something a little more modern. But Chrono Trigger, and Final Fantasy X are both on the docket.

P.S.

Why does the steam release still have a black bar at the bottom of the screen? This is Square Enix's golden goose, and they can't even go through the work to make the game work properly in full screen? I'm leaving them in as a form of protest.