Final Fantasy VII Review (Sony PlayStation, 1997)

There’s not a lot that can be said about the original version of Final Fantasy VII that hasn’t already been said. I was into RPGs well before its release, but following the news on it made me more hyped for any video game than I had been up to that point. Watching those full motion videos, and exploring the pre-rendered environments truly felt next generation to me. Heck, this video game almost made me flunk the seventh grade, but that’s a story for another day. I’ve tried to play through it numerous times in the last five years but I never made it far. I think perhaps I’ve just spent too much time with it in my youth. I finally was able to get to the end for the first time in twenty years. Does Final Fantasy VII hold up? Find out here in my review!

Final Fantasy VII was unique in that it was one of the few role playing games to take place in a world with technology such as guns. The world super power is a company called Shinra based in a metropolis called Midgar. It is here that the company sucks energy from the planet itself. This material, called mako, powers the multi-tiered megapolis. Unfortunately it is draining the life force from the planet. You play as Cloud; he’s a former member of Shinra’s elite military force called SOLDIER. He has been hired by a rebel group called avalanche to destroy the mako reactors. This is where the story starts.

At the time Final Fantasy VII was revered for it’s mature story. It was trailblazing back then, but we’ve been desensitized to the more edgy aspects of it. I will however say that I really enjoyed it back then. I was surprised at just how much I did even today. There are a lot of layers to the scenario and some elements of it are easy to miss. This is one time where I frequently went out of my way just to bask in the lore here. The scenario writers put a lot of work into crafting a detailed story with lots of twists and turns. Even in my latest playthrough I was discovering things about the game that I never previously knew. Final Fantasy VII has a lot of layers to it.

Admittedly the game is dated right from the start. It makes use of pre-rendered backgrounds and low poly character models. The directions you press on the directional pad aren’t mirrored in the game, and that’s because the environments aren’t always head on. It takes some getting used to, and even when you do sometimes Cloud moves in unexpected directions. This can make it a little difficult interacting with NPCs or picking up items, but you’re given plenty of time to do so and it’s hard to fault the game too much for that. On a high note, items often shine, and elements of the environment with which you can interact with are easy to see.

Despite the jump to 3D graphics the game maintains what were at the time mainstay gameplay elements of the series. You wander across various environments, some of which have random enemy encounters, as you move from point A to B to move the plot forward. You can visit town areas wherein you interact with NPCs (again, this goes back to expanding on the lore) and upgrade your characters’ equipment to make them more adept in combat. The beginning of the adventure is very linear as you explore a megopolis called Midgar (the futuristic elements were pretty unique at the time). A few hours in and the world map opens up which is entirely 3D. It was pretty groundbreaking at the time, but the graphics engine is just barely passable now.

The battle system however is just as functional as it ever was. Final Fantasy VII uses the classic ATB system wherein you have action gauges which fill as time passes and when it’s full you can input a command for your character. The basic actions include attack, magic, and item. You can run from an encounter by holding the L1 and R1 buttons, but this takes time and leaves you open for enemy attack. All damage is calculated numerically and the numbers sort of splash out of the character/enemy in traditional fashion. You win the battle when you run out all of the foes’ hit points, or when yours run out which spells an instant game over.

It may be one of my favorite video games of all time, but Final Fantasy VII has a few things that rubbed me the wrong way even back then. The first of these is that you can have only up to three different characters in your party at once. Final Fantasy VI gave you command of four at once, and IV was even better off with five protagonists at your disposal in every battle. This was a very limiting factor that I was (and still am, honestly) sour on. The cast is over double that size, and to its credit you can choose the characters you want to use (this element is introduced super early on) and that’s neat, but we had that same sort of thing in the previous iteration.

Another issue rears its head rather quickly. The characters just don’t have enough differences between them. They use different weapons, general stats, and have their own limit breaks (special moves that unlock as they take damage) but that wasn’t and still isn’t enough for me. Special moves, magic, and other abilities are tied to something called materia. These are magical gems that are put into weapons and armor and anyone can use everything in this regard. It was maddening in the beginning, but as more options open up Final Fantasy VII comes into its own. Support materia can be linked to other materia allowing for unique abilities. You can tie elements to your basic attack, counterattack with specific specials, etc. It seems rather shallow in the beginning but the system is surprisingly complex. If you’re down to tinker you can come up with some absolutely crazy combinations.

The materia system actually makes Final Fantasy VII more customizable than just about every Final Fantasy game up to this point. It swiftly offsets any advantages the previous job system from parts three and five by giving you such amazing control. Again, it all comes down to how much you’re willing to tinker. If you just want to play the main game as a regular RPG you won’t have any problems, but detail oriented gamers can come up with some killer combinations that make the game super easy. It’s extremely rewarding to watch your efforts play out in real time.

With that said, even playing Final Fantasy VII in a very basic way, it’s an extremely easy game. The main story can be completed even if you have limited exposure to the genre. There’s absolutely no need to grind or mess with the complicated materia system if you just want to reach the end credits. The side quests (namely, defeating the optional weapon enemies) take a lot of work and planning, but aside from that you can sort of cheese your way through doing the bare minimum. It’s too easy and I rarely felt challenged. That doesn’t mean I don’t love the game. I just can’t help but feel it was toned down in order to appeal to the masses more.

Final Fantasy VII has some major issues in the graphics department. Even at the time of release the in-game visuals weren’t particularly great. We already had Super Mario 64 with fully 3D graphics and vast landscapes to explore. The use of pre-rendered graphics in FF7 were smart. These look pretty nice, but the character models leave a lot to be desired. Outside of battle everyone and everything is super blocky and lack textures. It’s laughable now, and it wasn’t much better back then to be honest. Battle sequences looked amazing however and these hold up. The backgrounds and characters are full of detail and the animations are great for the hardware. The full motion videos were on a whole other level at the time of release and greatly enhanced the storytelling. They’re still a treat to watch even now.

The soundtrack however is still incredible. Final Fantasy VII represents some of Nobuo Uematsu’s finest work. The music used throughout all of Midgar is amazing (though most is simple midi and doesn’t make use of the CD format) and has since become iconic. Some of the redbook tracks such as the boss battle and Jenova themes are some of the best ever put to video game disc. You’ll be hard pressed to not find something to love about the music in every new area.