History YMMV / FinalFantasyVII

** At the time ''Final Fantasy VII'' was originally released in the U.S. in September 1997, [[UsefulNotes/ConsoleWars several of Sony's U.S. ads openly mocked the Nintendo 64's cartridge format]], which was a major contributing factor for Square developing this game for the [=PlayStation=]. The small print in one ad claimed that ''FFVII'' would cost over a thousand dollars at retail if it were released on cartridge, likely based on an estimate of what it might cost to manufacture a 1.5 GB N64 cartridge (and while the ad in question never mentioned Nintendo by name, it was an obvious TakeThat against Sony's largest rival for a mistake that pretty much handed domination of the console video game market to Sony for the next decade). 22 years later, ''Final Fantasy VII'' would be released on the UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch, and it even got a cartridge release as a double pack with ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIII'' in the European and Asian markets (the cartridge version sadly skipped North America, but the Switch is region-free and both the European and Asian versions are in English by default, so it isn't too hard for physical game collectors in North America to obtain this version.) The two games required a total of seven [=CD-ROMs=] between them on Playstation (three discs for ''VII'', four discs for ''VIII'',) but ''both games together'' fit onto a single Switch cartridge.

* PortingDisaster: Not as bad as some games, but the PC version has a truly tragic cut because it made the jump to a 100%-UsefulNotes/{{MIDI}} soundtrack. However, this meant that the choral track of [[SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic One Winged Angel]] was lost for some people because it was in a format that not every sound card could play.

* ShipToShipCombat: Decades after the game's release, the Cloud x Tifa shippers and the Cloud x Aerith shippers still argue over which girl Cloud loves, and they're unlikely to ever stop, especially after the release of ''Remake''. It's probably the most infamous example in all gaming history: [[Website/TVTropes This very site]] locked down the main page, the Characters/FinalFantasyVIIPlayableCharacters page and the YMMV/FinalFantasyVII for ''ten years'' due to rampant Cloti vs. Clerith [[Administrivia/EditWar Edit Warring]].

* ShipToShipCombat: Decades after the game's release, the Cloud x Tifa shippers and the Cloud x Aerith shippers still argue over which girl Cloud loves, and they're unlikely to ever stop, especially after the release of ''Remake''.

* EvenBetterSequel: Depending on who you ask, ''VII'' is this to ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI''. This game was a massive success within its original release and arguably still is felt today with many people claiming this installment as their favorite in the series.

* FandomRivalry: With ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI'' for which is the "best" of the series, as well as if Kefka or Sephiroth is the greatest villain. This rivalry is carried over into the critical scene as well; some reviewers and critics declare ''VII'' the best ''Final Fantasy'' title and one of the greatest video games of all time, others say the same of ''VI''.

* FanonDiscontinuity: A small but hardcore subset of fans (who mainly grew up with the original game before the ''Compilation'' came along) only acknowledge the original ''FFVII'' and refuse to accept anything else as canon. The reasons for this are many and varied--the most common being that the latter is inconsistent with and {{retcon}}s the original game in ways they dislike; that it threw a lot of FanWank out the window by establishing things like humanity not being wiped out at the end; that some of the characters are [[{{Flanderization}} Flanderized]] (especially Cloud), that it [[KudzuPlot needlessly over-convolutes the lore and backstory]] and/or because many of the entries are simply low quality (and even ''VideoGame/CrisisCore''--widely agreed to be a solid game in its own right--is still overshadowed by its massively popular parent). The rest of the fanbase was just glad to spend more time with ''FFVII'' 's world and characters.

** Cloud baptizing the children in ''Advent Children''.

** "Shall I give you 'dis pear?"[[labelnote:Explanation]]A mishearing of Sephiroth's line "Shall I give you despair?" The mental image of Sephiroth ominously offering Cloud fruit quickly caught on for its inherent silliness, resulting in a bevy of jokes and fan content depicting pears as Sephiroth's TrademarkFavoriteFood.[[/labelnote]]

** Italian Tifa[[labelnote:Explanation]]At the start of 2022, a Zoom meeting among members of the Italian senate was hijacked by a {{troll}} who replaced the video feed with a pornographic animation of Cloud and Tifa. The audacity of the incident led to it becoming widely parodied online, with fans jokingly portraying Tifa as a patriotic Italian woman.[[/labelnote]]

* ShipToShipCombat: Decades after the game's release, the Cloud x Tifa shippers and the Cloud x Aerith shippers still argue over which girl Cloud loves, and they're unlikely to ever stop.

* ''Final Fantasy Vii Remake Project''
** ''YMMV/FinalFantasyVIIRemake''
** ''YMMV/FinalFantasyVIIRebirth''

* ''YMMV/FinalFantasyVIIRemake''

* ''YMMV/FinalFantasyVIIRebirth''

* CommonKnowledge: A common assumption is that Aerith had to die to channel the Lifestream (and some would argue to summon Holy) against Meteor and that she walked into the Forgotten Capital fully knowing what the outcome was. Side materials completely debunk this idea and make it clear that she was looking forward to living her life to her fullest before Sephiroth cut it short. In general, Aerith's death was intended to subvert "Hollywood" notions of a predetermined HeroicSacrifice by showcasing how random and senseless loss is in the real world.

* EvenBetterSequel: Depending on who you ask, “VII” is this to ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI''. This game was a massive success within its original release and arguably still is felt today with many people claiming this installment as their favorite in the series.

* CommonKnowledge: A common assumption is that Aerith had to die to channel the Lifestream (and some would argue to summon Holy) against Meteor and that she walked into the Forgotten Capital fully knowing what the outcome was. Side materials completely debunk this idea and make it clear that she was looking forward to living her life to her fullest before Sephiroth cut it short, and in general, Aerith's death was intended to subvert "Hollywood" notions of a predetermined HeroicSacrifice by showcasing how random and senseless loss is in the real world.

* CommonKnowledge: A common assumption is that Aerith had to die to channel the Lifestream (and some would argue to summon Holy) against Meteor and that she walked into the Forgotten Capital fully knowing what the outcome is. Side materials completely debunk this idea and make it clear that she was looking forward to living her life to her fullest before Sephiroth cut it short, and in general, Aerith's death was intended to subvert "Hollywood" notions of a predetermined HeroicSacrifice by showcasing how random and senseless loss is in the real world.

* FanficFuel: The franchise is very consistent about dodging detailed depiction of the period of time between the Nibelheim Incident and shortly before the start of ''VII'', which covers four or five years. The two games to take place before ''VII'', ''Crisis Core'' and ''Before Crisis'', both have their main character rendered inactive for several years (Zack during the Nibelheim Incident, the Turk a brief time later) and they wake up a few months before the start of ''VII''. However, according to the official canon, during this unseen years Shinra is fighting resistant remnants from Wutai, remnants of Genesis' army (and Genesis himself is still around), and the original incarnation of Avalanche. These are also the years when Barret arrives in Midgar and forms his cell of Avalanche, Zangan takes Tifa to Midgar and she joins Barret, Shinra completes construction of Midgar, and SOLDIER is folded into Public Security due to the mass desertions and loss of its director and prominent ranking members. Any of these events are ripe for storytelling potential.

* CommonKnowledge: A common assumption is that Aerith had to die to channel the Lifestream(and some would argue to summon Holy) against Meteor and that she walked into the Forgotten Capital fully knowing what the outcome is. Side material completely debunks this idea and make it clear that she was looking forward to living her life to her fullest before Sephiroth cut it short and in general Aerith's death was intended to subvert "Hollywood" notions of a predetermined HeroicSacrifice by showcasing how random and senseless loss is in the real world.

* FanonDiscontinuity: A small but hardcore subset of fans (who mainly grew up with the original game before the ''Compilation'' came along) only acknowledge the original ''FFVII'' and refuse to accept anything from the ''Compilation'' as canon. The reasons for this are many and varied--the most common being that the latter is inconsistent with and {{retcon}}s the original game in ways they dislike; that it threw a lot of FanWank out the window by establishing things like humanity not being wiped out at the end; that some of the characters are [[{{Flanderization}} Flanderized]] (especially Cloud), and/or because many of the entries are simply low quality (and even ''VideoGame/CrisisCore''--widely agreed to be a solid game in its own right--is still overshadowed by its massively popular parent). The rest of the fanbase was just glad to spend more time with ''FFVII'' 's world and characters.

* ThatOneAchievement: "Materia Overlord", in the Steam release, requires having one of every materia mastered in your inventory. This is a meticulous and involved task that spans the entire game and requires the completion of several long sidequests, like getting every enemy skill on one Enemy Skill materia, completing the secret battle in the Battle Square, and [[ThatOneSidequest Chocobo breeding]] so you can access Knights of Round. Additionally, many materia and two enemy skills are PermanentlyMissableContent, so you'll likely have to use a walkthrough to get every single materia lest you accidentally miss one and have to start the whole save file over. And after all that, you still have to go through the trouble of grinding every materia up to max level. And finally, the game requires you to also have the Master Summon, Magic, and Command materia, which can only be gotten by either sacrificing one of every respective mastered materia to create their respective master type (requiring you to grind a second set up to max level), or by fighting [[BonusBoss Emerald Weapon]]. Have fun!

* ThatOneAchievement: "Materia Overlord", in the Steam release, requires having one of every materia mastered in your inventory. This is a meticulous and involved task that spans the entire game and requires the completion of several long sidequests, like getting every enemy skill on one Enemy Skill materia, completing the secret battle in the Battle Square, and [[ThatOneSidequest Chocobo breeding]] so you can access Knights of Round. Additionally, many materia and two enemy skills are PermanentlyMissableContent, so you'll likely have to use a walkthrough to get every single materia lest you accidentally miss one and have to start the whole save file over. And after all that, you still have to go through the trouble of grinding every materia up to max level. And finally, the game requires you to also have the Master Summon, Magic, and Command materia, which can only be gotten by either sacrificing one of every respective materia to create their respective master type (requiring you to grind a second set up to max level), or by fighting [[ThatOneBoss Emerald Weapon]]. Have fun!

** The video game's GreenAesop would remain relevant with climate change issues from overreliance on energy sources that negatively affect the ecology along with many companies' attempts to slow or even stop any attempt on alleviating it through alternate fuel sources and curtailing their privileges. ([[BrokenAesop Even if ironically, one such alternate fuel source being crude oil in the game itself.]]).

* FanonDiscontinuity: A small but hardcore subset of fans (who mainly grew up with the original game before the ''Compilation'' came along) only accept the original ''FFVII'' and refuse to accept anything from the ''Compilation'' as canon. The reasons for this are many and varied--the most common being that the latter is inconsistent with and {{retcon}}s the original game in ways they dislike; that it threw a lot of FanWank out the window by establishing things like humanity not being wiped out at the end; that some of the characters were [[{{Flanderization}} Flanderized]] (especially Cloud), and/or because many of the entries are simply low quality (and even ''VideoGame/CrisisCore''--widely agreed to be good a solid game in its own right--is still overshadowed by its massively popular parent). The rest of the fanbase was just glad to spend more time with the world and characters of ''FFVII''.

* SeinfeldIsUnfunny:
** The game created, popularized, or deconstructed many RPG tropes and conventions that see popular use today[[note]]not nearly as many as some would have you believe, [[GoldenMeanFallacy but also not none]] as others would say[[/note]], but people who weren't there to experience the game at launch tend to see it as a dated ClicheStorm. Even the deconstructions became tropes in and of themselves.
** Of special note: characters with amnesia and/or who appear to be one thing but end up ''really'' being something else entirely have been used so often in Square Enix games since that, playing the game now, one wouldn't see anything remotely special or shocking about them.

** With the advent of NFTs and their detrimental effects on the environment becoming widely discussed, an edit of Barrett lamenting how users of NFTs and cryptocurrency "want to burn down half the rainforests for a damn JPG!" has become widely used.

** Sephiroth's Supernova attack is essentially a glorified Graviga spell that has an extremely spell animation time. (Though it looks WAY more powerful than it actually is.)

* LowTierLetdown: Cait Sith. He statistically has the worst average stats of any party member except for Magic, but most characters can get their Magic high enough to hit the damage cap anyway. He only has two Limit commands, Dice and Slots, which both have random effects.

** Sephiroth's Supernova attack. (Though it looks WAY more powerful than it actually is.)

** The Wall Market subplot centers around Cloud having to dress up as a woman to sneak into Don Corneo's mansion, complete with a make-up, wig, and even appropriate underwear. As part of this Cloud can visit the Honey Bee Inn and have a bath with several muscular men in swimsuits with {{Porn Stache}}s, and the scene is laden with obvious homoerotic undertones. Coupled with Cloud's embarrassment over everything to do with this scheme (and Aerith being very amused by his embarrassment), it can come off as insensitive and stereotypical towards homosexual and transgender individuals.

** The video game's GreenAesop would remain relevant with Climate Change issues from overreliance on energy sources that negatively affect the ecology along with many companies' attempts to slow or even stop any attempt on alleviating it through alternate fuel sources and curtailing their privileges. ([[BrokenAesop Even if ironically, one such alternate fuel source being crude oil in the game itself.]]).

** With the right Materia combination, it was possible to throw yourself into a loop of [[LastDiscMagic Knights of the Round]] until whatever you were facing was dead. This includes ''the final boss''. And the {{Bonus Boss}}es.