Final Fantasy VII has several minor problems and one major problem. That major problem is that it suffers from one of the worst cases of Seinfeld Is Unfunny in the whole medium of video games. Many elements of the game were mind-blowing when it first hit in 1997. The opening cinematic might not look like much today, but when it first hit, the sheer amount of detail and realism was staggering. The world was more detailed than nearly anything else available, and seeing the battles rendered in full 3D after the static sprites of FFVI could send chills down your spine. The plot was more original and psychologically complex than nearly anything else on the market at that time.

The problem is that games in general, and the Final Fantasy series in particular, continued pushing the envelope. Graphics got more and more detailed and realistic, worlds got larger, battle systems got more complex, and even more complicated and downright mind-screwy plots were written. In comparison, FFVII looks incredibly roughshod and haphazard at points.

This isn't to say that the game doesn't have any inexcusable flaws. It certainly does. The translation is notoriously iffy, and the graphical push ends up being a hindrance sometimes when its hard to tell what parts of the screen you can walk on. The script, while ambitious, can be heavily overwrought and occasionally narm-y. The battle system didn't really make any marked improvements over FFVI, a lot of the quick-time event type minigames are more aggravating than anything else (I'm looking at you, CPR).

But on the flipside, it has some solid merits to it beyond its ambition. The soundtrack (despite the fact that the sound files aren't of the highest quality) is still one of the best video game soundtracks ever, and the cast is one of the most memorable video game ensembles out there. Glitches aside, the gameplay is mostly solid, and it doesn't suffer from needless complexity or simplicity.

Long story short, FFVII might not look like much compared to the numerous games it inspired, but it's still well worth playing even though many of the elements look old and outdated. Despite the appearance, there's plenty of substance there.

I don't like being unoriginal. I really don't. But (deep breath)...Final Fantasy VII is my favorite of the Final Fantasy series. I love it. That said, I'm willing to examine it for flaws and I'm not blind to the negative consequences that has come out of it's success in the past decade or so.

First off, nearly everything in the game works for me. Most of the graphics (the world map, the pre-rendered backgrounds, the battle graphics, and especially the FMV sequences) are still appealing. The musical score by Nobuo Uematsu is brilliant. The gameplay/materia system is fun to play with. The characters are all memorable, with one of the best hero parties and one of the best casts of villains in any RPG.

And the story is epic in the finest sense: everything escalates, the adventure becoming bigger and grander as it goes along. Even the back description on the box says as much! And while it does get highly confusing toward the end, all the pieces to the puzzle are present in game for you to put together and make sense of it all. There's a difference between complex (made of difficult-to-grasp parts that adds up to something) and convoluted (made of difficult-to-grasp parts that get tangled up in themselves), and this game's plot is the former, not the latter.

Now, the problems. While I said most of the graphics are still appealing, there's one obvious exception: the damn in-game field character models. Seriously, they look like mutated LEGO people. Secondly, while I said the plot all comes together, everything involving Cloud's identity crisis could have stood to be less confusing. Thirdly, while it's not a part of the game itself, the hype surrounding it can get bad. I'll say it's the best FF game, but the best RPG? The best video game period? That's really pushing it.

Finally, the negative consequences it's had, from the "Compilation" of spin-offs to the waves of JRPGs copying it in terms of story events, characterization and complexity....these can't be ignored. As wonderful as the game is to me, it's greatness does come at a hefty price.

In the end, it's best to ignore the fan hype and negative outcomes, and just play the game. You may find it brilliant like I did, or you may find it dissapointing. But either way...you really ought to just play it.

I recently downloaded this game from the PSN Store, so due to Popcultural Osmosis, I knew about some of the plot twists ahead of time. That said, the game was still pretty enjoyable. A quick breakdown:

Story: 8/10

It starts off as a sort of "Freedom Fighter" plot, which while not particularly original, is pretty good, as far as plots go. Near the end of disc one, it shifts to a more "Save the World from an Omnicidal Maniac" story, which it hangs on to until the end. Along the way, each character in your party has their own backstory fleshed out a bit, either when you first recruit them, or a short time later. Nothing we really haven't heard before, one's the Last Of His Kind, one's your childhood friend, one had his hopes and dreams dashed, so on and so forth. The most interesting one is probably that of the main character, Cloud.

Graphics: 7/10

It's one of the first 3D RPGs ever, and it shows. While cutscenes and battles look really nice, especially for its time, in towns and on the overworld map are somewhat iffy. There were points that I thought the game would probably have looked better with sprite-based graphics, but for the most part, the 3D is good.

Gameplay: 8/10

This is what really matters. First up, the while the battle system is called "innovative" in the instruction manual, it's really just "turn-based, except if you take too long, the enemy gets another turn." I found the Materia system pretty nice, as well as the LimitBreaks. The only real problem is the difficulty. It may just be that I was overleveled, but with the exception of one boss early on, there was no point that I thought that I was going to die. Even while fighting the original "One Winged Angel," nothing he threw at me hurt badly enough to kill any of my characters. In fact, all his strongest attack did was fill up my Limit Break gauge enough to kill him that next turn.

Sound/Music: 7/10

Menu sounds are your standard beeps and doinks, boss music was nice. And of course, the final boss's music was great.

Overall: 7.5/10 Definitely above average, and for the 10$ download price, definitely worth it. Took about 45 hours to beat, and I didn't do too much extra stuff like chocobo breeding or fighting the two Bonus Bosses. Would buy.