The Diffculty Factor: How Hard is Hard Enough?

by Don Wang 

Final Fantasy VII's diffculty is constantly brought into question. Andrew Seidman pointed out in his editorial, "Losing One's Objectivity:

"Almost every source, unreliable or not, has stated that FF7 is the easiest RPG."

Is it really so?

I do not agree at all. I've played nearly every Square RPG since Final Fantasy IV and most other Sega and PSX RPGs, and I found FFVII to be one of the hardest RPGs I've ever played.

The main reason many people claim Final Fantasy VII is too easy is the linear system of experience building and level progression. In most traditional RPG, the system goes up exponentially. Often, advancing from level 40 to 41 takes twice the amount of experience as advancing from level 35 to 36. The game cannot be hard when you've artificially built your level to a point you shouldn't be in. Generally, this is checked by the geometric system of experience progression: there comes a point when fighting current enemies advances levels so slowly that you must move on. Not so in FFVII. It's not uncommon to get 2000 experience or more from Wutai or the Nibelheim area in the 1st CD. You don't always get this much experience in North Cave!

Ah, now we can see the problem. Getting levels is too easy. Is this a fault of the game? I don't think so. Let us remember that we're 'role-playing.' Does any hero circle mindlessly for days, even months, fighting the same enemies again and again? Of course not. Heroes move on in their quest, and are almost always outclassed by evil. Some power, be it faith in Aeris's Holy or just faith mankind cannot lose, propels them to defeat evil. NOT an inherent superiority over evil! When you stop to gain levels, you're breaking the spirit of the RPG itself. Heroes are supposed to be weaker than their opponents, but heroes' beliefs and ideals allow them to accomplish the impossible.

You're never supposed to win a major battle easily. You're supposed to fight a battle to the death, where a simple mistake means death - and you should die! That is part of the nature of RPGs. Each time I died, I didn't go gain 10 more levels. Instead, I found a more efficient party setup and devised new strategies.

"Levelling up" may be part of all RPG players' cultural heritage. But remember that FFVII is designed for a wide audience that would probably lack the patience to battle mindlessly for hours. FFVII is designed to be a challenging game - at the game's natural pace. Of course intentionally gaining levels makes the game easy! If you want a more challenging game, don't demand more difficult opponents and weaker players. Instead, play the game with lower levels, on the game's own terms, and you'll find the challenge more than adequate.