I played this game for the first time a few months ago and adored it. Even after going back and playing I-VI, VII remains my favorite, with my favorite world, characters, battle system, and story. The pre-rendered backgrounds are still lovely and look great even after ~20 years. The lego character models...less so, and were responsible for some moments of unintentional comedy. The FM Vs aren't spectacular but do have some nice moments.
This game is just fun. It's simply a lot of fun to pick up and play. The materia system is fantastic allowing for a lot experimentation to find the best combinations along with strategizing with weapons between attack power and AP growth for instance. Characters have inclinations (some are better in magic than physical attacks) but all can be customized with the materia system into the kind of fighter you want while retaining their individual personalities. The limit breaks are also a great addition in that they aren't only powerful attacks but can also have special effects/healing elements that add another bit of complexity to designing a good fighting party.
The story (though it has been made quite convoluted by later additions) is actually easy to understand once you finish the game and has some great twists/elements. Sephiroth is a great villain in that he will engage with your party more than a few times which makes defeating him much more emotionally satisfying. Having him in your party early in the game during Cloud's flashback was also a brilliant move by developers. The writing has a few rough patches but is pretty good overall with some comedic moments that are absurd/hilarious. Probably my favorite thing about it is how each character has their own little substory; not everything is about the main character, and the game spends quite a bit of time developing each.
-Barret's story with Dyne, Marlene, and Scarlet's destruction of Corel
-Red XIII/Nanaki learning the truth of his father
-Reeve and his work as a double agent while growing deeper ties with AVALANCHE
-Yuffie, her relationship with her father, and not wanting to see Wutai be a tourist trap
-Vincent and his relationships with Lucrecia/Hojo
-Aerith and wanting to discovery her ancestry/purpose
-Cid and his dreams of space
The one flaw I would say is how the character of Tifa is handled. Tifa never really gets a story of her own and revolves almost exclusively around Cloud. Nibelheim's destruction is framed over what it means for Cloud. Even the death of Tifa's father and mother are told from his perspective. It's telling that if you substituted Cloud with another SOLDIER, the other party members still have engaging stories that hold up. But not Tifa. For the remake, I really hope they give her her own plotline outside of Cloud.
Overall, though, this is a fantastic game that holds up exceptionally well. I'm hugely excited for the remake but even if it's terrible this game as-is is already great.
Not just a wonderful game, also a wonderful experience (with a few flaws)
I played this game for the first time a few months ago and adored it. Even after going back and playing I-VI, VII remains my favorite, with my favorite world, characters, battle system, and story. The pre-rendered backgrounds are still lovely and look great even after ~20 years. The lego character models...less so, and were responsible for some moments of unintentional comedy. The FM Vs aren't spectacular but do have some nice moments.
This game is just fun. It's simply a lot of fun to pick up and play. The materia system is fantastic allowing for a lot experimentation to find the best combinations along with strategizing with weapons between attack power and AP growth for instance. Characters have inclinations (some are better in magic than physical attacks) but all can be customized with the materia system into the kind of fighter you want while retaining their individual personalities. The limit breaks are also a great addition in that they aren't only powerful attacks but can also have special effects/healing elements that add another bit of complexity to designing a good fighting party.
The story (though it has been made quite convoluted by later additions) is actually easy to understand once you finish the game and has some great twists/elements. Sephiroth is a great villain in that he will engage with your party more than a few times which makes defeating him much more emotionally satisfying. Having him in your party early in the game during Cloud's flashback was also a brilliant move by developers. The writing has a few rough patches but is pretty good overall with some comedic moments that are absurd/hilarious. Probably my favorite thing about it is how each character has their own little substory; not everything is about the main character, and the game spends quite a bit of time developing each.
-Barret's story with Dyne, Marlene, and Scarlet's destruction of Corel
-Red XIII/Nanaki learning the truth of his father
-Reeve and his work as a double agent while growing deeper ties with AVALANCHE
-Yuffie, her relationship with her father, and not wanting to see Wutai be a tourist trap
-Vincent and his relationships with Lucrecia/Hojo
-Aerith and wanting to discovery her ancestry/purpose
-Cid and his dreams of space
The one flaw I would say is how the character of Tifa is handled. Tifa never really gets a story of her own and revolves almost exclusively around Cloud. Nibelheim's destruction is framed over what it means for Cloud. Even the death of Tifa's father and mother are told from his perspective. It's telling that if you substituted Cloud with another SOLDIER, the other party members still have engaging stories that hold up. But not Tifa. For the remake, I really hope they give her her own plotline outside of Cloud.
Overall, though, this is a fantastic game that holds up exceptionally well. I'm hugely excited for the remake but even if it's terrible this game as-is is already great.