Final Fantasy VII Review

Final Fantasy VII Review | June 7, 2014
Windows, iOS, PlayStation

When Final Fantasy VII was first released in 1997 for the PS1 it changed gaming in many different ways. First there was no blueprint on how to make a 3D RPG or 3D games overall mostly on this massive of a scale and second it marked the first time that Square Enix elected to leave Nintendo and start making games exclusively for Sony and the PlayStation line. FF VII was originally going to be on the Super Nintendo game then it was going to be on the N64 but the cartridge base hardware did not have enough storage for the epic that was going to be the best selling Final Fantasy game ever. The story is centered on Cloud Strife a mercenary that is hired by a group call AVALANCHE. He is the childhood friend of Tifa Lockhart who is also a member. Somewhere between their days growing up and now Cloud has gaps in his memory and does not know where he has been or what he was doing. The group is trying to stop a world controlling mega corporation called Shinra who AVALANCH believes is destroying the planet.

Final Fantasy VII paved the way for all 3D RPG’s and the style created is still used today. The story is engaging and the character development could be the best ever created in gaming. Each member of your team is memorable and easy to connect with. Each facing something separate from the rest of the group and each scared to lose what little they have. This how ever does not stop them from risking it all to stop the Shinra Corporation and what they are doing to the planet. FF VII has such great balance between all of the playable characters. Here each one of them has unique powers that provide different ways to attack but they all have similarities that work well together too. Everyone can use all of the magic spells, summon magic and have something called limit breaks. The limit breaks are first introduced in this game. After one of your group members lose enough hit points they are able to use their special powers. Most of them are powerful attack but some regain health, increase stats and are very useful against the dozens of boss battles and hidden bosses called Weapons.

The magic and summons can be used by everybody because of the great RPG elements in the game. Materia holds the world’s magic and summon monsters and everybody can attach them to their weapons and armor. So if you put in a Fire Materia then you can use Fire. This is also how you level up spells in the game. If you keep the Fire Materia connected eventually it will become a Fire Materia level 2 and then 3. This works the same with summons, but the key is after you max out a Materia’s power then it splits and creates a duplicate of its self. So every member of your team could have a Bahamut and a Shiva summon depending on how much time you spend leveling up. It works very well and lets you create several different strategies for each group.

Also each member has a personal side mission that unlocks their most powerful weapon in the game. Some of the quests are shorter than the others but most take some time. You will need to both level up and find these weapons if you want to defeat all of the different bosses both mandatory and optional ones. Such an astounding game in every way you can think of. Final Fantasy VII has sold over 10 million games so far and is even been remade for iOS and Android. This is a 40 plus hour game and will have you playing through the story multiple times and the side missions will get you close to the 100 hour mark because it takes time to level up to defeat the major bosses. Even if you have never played FF VII it is still one of the best video games out there period. There is a reason why everybody wants a HD remake of this game, it is flawless and worth every dime, so just go buy it. Must own for any classic gamer or classic RPG Gamer!

Update
Final Fantasy VII Remastered was announced by Square Enix in June of 2015 at the Sony E3 press conference!

10 out of 10
Buy This Game Today

10 out of 10
Buy This Game Today

Rated
T for
Teen

Rated
PEGI 16