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    Final Fantasy VII

    Game » consists of 20 releases. Released Jan 31, 1997

    The seventh numbered entry in the Final Fantasy franchise brings the series into 3D with a landmark title that set new industry standards for cinematic storytelling. Mercenary Cloud Strife joins the rebel group AVALANCHE in their fight against the power-hungry Shinra Company, but their struggle soon becomes a race to save the entire Planet from an impending cataclysm.

    lordgodalming's Final Fantasy VII (PlayStation) review

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    Classic

      The main hero of Final Fantasy VII is the spiky-haired mercenary, Cloud Strife. He will always have two other members in his “party,” which is the group you use in battles.   Right away you meet Cloud’s closest friends, Barrett and Tifa, the latter of which provides a potential love interest for Cloud. There is also a gentle flower saleswoman named Aerith (or Aeris in the original translation); Red XIII, a talking dog/fox; Cid, a foul mouthed and misogynistic rocket pilot; Cait Sith, a robot cat riding a fat marshmallow thing; Yuffie, a thieving child ninja; and Vincent, a dark gunman with a darker past.   This moody bunch is out to save the planet from the evil Shinra Company, genetically engineered bad guy Sephiroth, and his monstrous mother Jenova, who crashed into the planet eons ago on a cursed meteor.

    Confused yet?   Just wait.   The story becomes very convoluted at times, especially because you can spend several hours leveling up between plot points (to “level up” is to participate in a very large number of battles to make your characters stronger) and forget important details when you actually come back to the story.  But in light of that, let me say that I have never been as satisfied to beat a game as when I struck the final blow to Sephiroth for the first time.


    Compared to later Final Fantasies, I have to say Square did this one right.  Leveling up is fun, the sidequests worthwhile, and the most powerful summon in the game, Knights of the Round, is a genuine reward for the hours spent earning it.   Final Fantasy VII was my introduction to the series, and for that reason alone it holds a special place in my hierarchy life-wasting activities. This is not just a “great game for its time.”  FFVII still has exactly the right blend of story, challenge, strategy, and scope to be one of the best games ever made.    

    Other reviews for Final Fantasy VII (PlayStation)

      Final Fantasy 7 is still amazing after all of these years. 0

      I have a weird history with Final Fantasy 7.  I played all previous Final Fantasys that came out before Final Fanasty 7, including Mystic Quest and Chrono Trigger.. heck basically all Square games at this point.  So when I first heard about Final Fantasy 7 and that it was coming out on the Playstation, I was pissed.  I didn't want a Playstation, there was no games on it I cared about and I already owned a Saturn.  I knew the next Nintendo was way off, but I was still peeved.  However, as time ti...

      12 out of 12 found this review helpful.

      A look back at Final Fantasy VII and its influence on RPGs 0

        Front cover of Final Fantasy VII (US) for PC Final Fantasy VII is acclaimed as one of the high-water marks of the role-playing genre. Many gamers, particularly RPG fans, have played through this game not once but a multitude of times. I downloaded the game off of the Playstation Network and played through it one more time on my PSP to assess how the game has aged. The very first thing that I noticed about the game was the chasm between how well the audio design and soundtrack have a...

      3 out of 3 found this review helpful.

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