Yes, Final Fantasy VII
only comes to number two in my top five and I know that will cause some
surprise (even controversy) among die-hard Final
Fantasy fans about how I have no idea what I’m on about. Well, just bear
with me and I’ll explain why.
On another note, I did say last time that I’m really
grasping at straws for the top three because I love them all, so this is what
it’s come down to.
The game
On its own, FFVII is probably my favourite game of the
entire Final Fantasy franchise. The story is gripping, the characters (mostly
relatable) and if you’ve managed to learn anything about me from these blogs,
then you should know that I love science fiction and such related themes, even
in a fantasy based genre!
It’s clear throughout the game that there is more to the
story than we’re being told in this title. It keeps the audience wondering and
we don’t need to know anything else – it’s great that we do learn (I’ll come to
that) but it isn’t necessary for what I’m getting from the game, or what I want
from it. There’s love, heart break, betrayal, soul searching, laughter,
adventure, history and future and so much more. It could be a seven series long
TV show or more with all the side stories and characters you come across.
The Materia system is brilliant too, and you get a chance to
really give your characters abilities that you prefer and suit you style of
play. This is based on your weapon and amour choices and a lot of time can be
spent finding the best weapon and armour combination before you get your
Materia combination right.
The Materia itself is a great way of doing things, and
limits how often you can use abilities per battle before it resets after each
fight. However, you can ‘master’ each one to get a new one and come up with
some truly powerful (and almost unbeatable) combinations. In most, if not all
cases, when you max out a Materia you get a new one so you can put each of your
favourites on numerous characters. In the end, it makes things too easy if you
try too much.
However, there is a point throughout the whole game, and the
Cloud and Sephiroth rivalry is well known, probably one of the most famous
throughout the Final Fantasy series. The
graphics and music for the time of release were also fantastic, and were a real
ground-breaking move away from sprites (which I still miss). It was the
beginning of a change in look for the series that has been carried on through
to the current generation, and soon to be next generation, of titles.
All together
So, why is FFVII
only number two in my top five? Well, unfortunately, this title isn’t just a
game for me, and it’s nothing so simple is a VII-2 this time (thankfully). Unfortunately,
with mobile games, handheld games console games, a movie and animated shorts
all tied in to the VII universe, it’s
almost impossible to tell what’s been planned and what has been added on as a
money maker.
Even if it was all planned, which I’m not completely sold on,
the amount of information and planning is staggering. Cloud suffers from the
same problems in almost every game he title he appears in, so what’s the point,
other than a quick turnaround in Advent
Children. Zack stands out like a sore thumb from the world and his Soldier
mentors, which is interesting but his unwavering resolve doesn’t work for me.
The story of the Turks isn’t convincing and made me like their characters less,
making subsequent play throughs of any game less enjoyable. The only extra the
series I enjoyed somewhat was the PS2 title Dirge
of Cerberus, but it made me think more deeply into VII’s world than ever before and I still had answers and hopes of a
sequel that was never to be thanks to simple mechanics and a lacking story not
befitting the FFVII brand.
I could go on, but I’m giving you a taste of the problems of
what has happened to the FFVII title.
I could go on for quite some time, but this expansion of the world or and
universe has decreased my love and enjoyment of what is a standout game.
Conclusion
You may accept my arguments, or even agree with some of
them, and it still wouldn’t make a difference. That’s fine, this is my opinion.
FFVII on its own should probably be
at the top spot, as it is for many fans. For me, having played and seen the
other titles in this series, I’m less than thrilled now and while I, like most
of you, would love a HD remake of this title, it would still never return to
the top of my list now. However, it will always be up there as one of my
favourite titles that I spent countless hours on through numerous play
throughs.
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