Final Fantasy VII Retrospective Review

PlayStation Top 10

After the announcement of the PlayStation Classic I decided to look back at my personal Top 10 PlayStation games to see if they hold up. Each gets a minimum of 3 hours of game play before I compare how I remember the game and how it plays now.

The rest of my Top 10 games are:

• Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
• Motoracer
• Grandia
• Crash Warped
• Resident Evil
• Quake 2
• Metal Gear Solid
• Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete
• Lunar 2: Eternal Blue Complete

Final Fantasy VII – Then (1997)

My friend Victor wanted to play my copy of Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, and the only game he could give me in exchange was Final Fantasy VII. I had heard of it, everybody had, but in the 6 months following its release I made no attempt to play it. How could a game about lining up to fight be fun? He insisted I give it a try, because he knew I’d love it. In retrospect it might have been because he had nothing else to trade, but it worked out in the end.

Final Fantasy VII was my second JRPG experience. Super Mario RPG was my first and I absolutely adore the game, but FFVII is what turned me into a JRPG fanatic. I’ve always loved games, but I suck at playing many of them. Games that require quick reflexes are not typically my strength. Slower games that prioritize strategy over reaction speed are my jam. JRPGs with their menu driven combat and lengthy narratives perfectly caters to my play style. Victor lending me FFVII kick started my love affair with the genre.

In the years since it launched, Final Fantasy VII has fallen from the pedestal of greatest RPG of all time. During the PlayStation era it was the reigning champion, but now it splits the fan community. Many consider it an overrated game that only achieved its popularity through graphical achievements that don’t hold up next to modern games. I am not one of those extremists, but I do believe Final Fantasy VII is overrated. I have four JRPGs on this list of top 10 PlayStation games. FFVII is my least favorite of the bunch. That’s still high praise, but it speaks volumes about my regard for the game. Now it’s time to discover if I still feel the same after a revisit.

Final Fantasy VII – Now (2018)

Final Fantasy VII was a graphical triumph. This is no longer true from a technical stand point. The character models are laughably low-poly when navigating the world. During battle the models are improved, but still lack detail. Nobody can deny that FFVII was a stunning achievement at the time of its release, but to make the claim it still deserves to be considered a graphical powerhouse is ridiculous. Nothing from the PS1 era holds a candle next to modern games on a technical level.

The look of FFVII is better viewed through the lens of art design and style. The 3D rendered backgrounds are often beautiful pieces of scenery. The city of Midgar is a nourish dystopia that sucks you into its depths. Even simple interiors, like the Avalanche head quarters are stuffed with personal items that make it feel lived in. Final Fantasy VII’s art design is a masterclass in world building.

Character design is similarly noteworthy. One of the hallmarks of great design is the silhouette  test. Can you identify a character solely by their outline? Star Wars does this better than most. Star Destroyers unique triangle design, the Tie Fighters distinctive H-shape, and Darth Vader’s cape and helmet are all strong examples of this in action. Cloud’s spiky hair and massive buster sword makes his silhouette unique. Barret is another fantastic piece of design. His stocky body and gun arm share little in common with Cloud. Their designs reflect their personality conflict at the game’s beginning.

Technically, FFVII is no longer impressive, but the design holds strong after twenty years, Similarly, the soundtrack to the game is still a joy to listen to. The music for the opening attack on the Make Reactor  builds tension, but also sounds a little goofy. Playfulness is a quality much of the game’s music plays with, matching the mixed tone of the game as a whole. The overall story is dark, but more often than not the game relies on humor to endear characters to the player and drive relationships between them. It’s not balanced on the level of the Marvel films, but it’s aiming for that same tone.

Enough about the audio-visuals for now, the meat of any game is game play. How does it play today? The first strike is having random battles. These were common at the time of the game release. During my first play through I had no problems with the random battles. I had so little JRPG experience I thought nothing of them. Now, after having played games like Lunar, Grandia and the Trails series, I much prefer when enemies appear on screen. Random battles drive me nuts. I genuinely don’t know if I could finish FFVII again simply because of that one game design decision.

Once the battle starts, the player engages in a simple JRPG battle system. Attack, Magic, Defense, and Items are the options available. Taking damage increases your limit break meter, which maxed out provides you a special attack option. The  Active Time Battle system uses a cool down bar between actions to dictate turns. The system is easy to understand, which makes it perfect for JRPG beginners. The problem in revisiting FF7 is how simple the system is. There isn’t much depth to it, which makes increases how annoying the random encounters are. I never look forward to the next battle.

The Materia system is also simple. Leveling your characters follows a linear pathway, except for magic use. Magic gems called materia are acquired through the game, and can be swapped between any player. This allows for great customization of each character, but results in characters that lack uniqueness. Aeris is the healer, unless you load up Tifa or Barret with healing material because why not. Thinking back to this being my first big JRPG, the system allows newcomers to play without worrying too much about level progression. The focus is what magic is most effective, and loading your characters up to attack the enemy.

The more I played Final Fantasy VII I came to realize why it was such a great introduction to the genre. The plot of eco-terrorists turned world savers is engaging. The characters depth and personality, while still being lovable and fun. If you don’t mind random encounters, the battle system is straightforward and easy to master. The graphics would have been mind blowing, but now the appeal will be in the interesting art design. Final Fantasy VII is a great beginner JRPG. I still believe its overrated, but that doesn’t make it bad. It’s not the greatest JRPG ever made, but it’s a great one to recommend to a new player.