If you don't have Something Nice to Say....

by Jeff Marshall

I've been playing RPG's since the beginning, and been reading RPGamer since it was the Unofficial Squaresoft Page. I know I'm not alone in these respects, so how come I seem to be the only RPGamer who does not see Final Fantasy VII as the Ultimate Evil? In an RPGamer poll Final Fantasy VII was rated the second-favorite Final Fantasy, only 42 votes behind FFVI. I'll say right off that I, along with a couple thousand others, voted for VII. With these facts in mind, why haven't I seen more defenses of the incredibly preposterous criticisms dealt to FFVII? People in each editorial installment assert that FFVII had a "terrible plot" or "too many undeveloped characters."

SLAP!

Did someone say Umaro, Gogo, Relm, Strago, Mog, Gau, the cast of FFV and most of FFIV? I did just hear the words "underdeveloped characters," didn't I? Even optional characters Vincent and Yuffie had lengthy scenes of character development, and everyone else in that game had more time spent tearing away at their personas and revealing their past and their feelings than in any game before it. Even the minor villains of FFVII had more development than most earlier characters. Reeve (although his development was really Cait Sith's), Hojo, Elena, and even the other Turks had their respective character revelations. Some would argue that many more had no development.

SLAP!

Was there a cast of dozens of actual characters in FFVI? There was Gestahl, Ultros, Atma, and few others in a menagerie of boring, non-plot related characters. So really, for every Jenova or Heidegger, in other games there are actual supposed plot-reated characters that are just as anonymous as the day you ran into them while trying to save the world from who-knows-what. Then, of course, there's the issue of length. I don't know what's keeping you people. I seem to finish FFVI (and don't start me on earlier games) in about 30 hours, while everyone else says that it is at least 60, maybe even 80 hours long. While I can't create facts based on this data (are you others listening? It's about time we stop producing falsefied information), I certainly now believe that FFVI indeed was shorter. When one determines the length of a game, it really should only be based on linear events which must occur. I could say FFVII was 200 hours simply because I pressed circle on every object in the game forty times at regular intervals, and leveled up everyone to 99 in Midgar. I did none of these things, and beat FFVII in a good twenty hours longer than FFVI. This, I believe, is the best arguement on how intricate FFVII's plot is. Why? Because I didn't run in circles trying to level up my materia. I simply watched the plot, and got the essential items (and yes, text was scrolled through at a normal rate, I'm not slowwe). Final Fantasy VI's plot could be raced through in under 10 hours, and there the true length of the game be revealed. Isn't it true that 54% of RPGamers believe that plot is the most important aspect of an RPG? Maybe some of you poor dears thought that it was sad. Or maybe the bad guys were mean, or Cloud was a bad boy. The fact is, the plot was developed to an extent that earlier games could only dream of. How many editorials are there that debate the true theme and motives for the characters of FFIV? How about the endings? There was really no need to interpret or wonder; everything was spelled out for you in imperfect English (I'll admit that FFVII had a flawed-at-best translation, though).

There are also the less crucial elements of gameplay which people love bashing. Everyone loves complaining that FFVII was way too easy, especially with Knights of the Round. Honestly, when you're playing an RPG, tell me if you ever catch yourself saying "Well, Exdeath killed me again.... What an awesome game!" Indeed, the difficulty factor is irrelevant, and only a hindrance to advancing to the next plot sequence (or are you just saying that you care about plot to place yourselves with the more ennobled RPGamers?). Music and battle system are completely objective. How could a battle system where the fights are fundamentally the same, and the magic system far more intricate, be called boring to its predecessor being called exciting? Music is based on preference, and so I will only say I prefer the variety of styles and more dark-mooded pieces of FFVII to any other game.

Maybe I've covered everything, but chances are, I haven't. I'm sure that someone would be willing to insult my words for the sake of their own denial of the outstanding quality of FFVII. Where have all the outright defenses of FFVII been? Are the 2000 RPGamer visitors who prefer FFVII to any other silent, or have they been silenced? Why are all of the people that despise FFVII the ones who had to spend over $150 on a Playstation because they ran out to buy a Nintendo 64 first? Why can't people acknowledge that if they care about plot and character development, then FFVII is the present pinnacle of the series? Who knows when people will admit to themselves that they enjoyed FFVII, but that time must come for those who wish to remain optimistic about Square. Like it or not, Final Fantasy games are no longer RPGs with cut-out characters or simple themes. They are epics. To those who wish to be left behind, go play FFV or Saga Frontier, but don't go sticking your noses into Xenogears or Final Fantasy games for Playstation which will only cause the editorial section to be clogged with empty words. Come if you wish, and keep an open mind.