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Final Fantasy VII is a favorite among many RPGamers. When it was released, it was part of a whole new generation of games. It gave us a thrilling presentation with epic and cinematic style featuring full motion video cutscenes. Its complex gameplay provided us with such innovations as the Materia System and Limit Breaks. It featured a lively assortment of characters whom we came to either love or hate. Its involving story, deeply rooted in mythology, kept us playing all hours of the night. Now that I've revived those old memories for you, I'd like to take some time to discuss just why this is such a meaningful game to so many fans. It's my goal in this editorial to share some of my own views on this and to elicit discussion about your own.
There's no doubt that Final Fantasy VII is a classic, solid game. Countless positive reviews and the game's massive commercial success can show that. It's a personal favorite of mine and I've seen it come on top of countless "best game" contests. Even almost ten years since its initial release, fans and creators alike continue to support this game that has now become a full franchise of its own. We're still seeing games and movies based on it, as well as countless fan-works pouring into websites. I think this shows that what's kept the game in players' hearts is more than just the game itself. There's a whole culture around the spirit of the game that continues to thrive.
What seems like many years ago, I had seen a commercial for this amazing game for the PlayStation. The breathtaking cinematics, the trailer's exciting voice-over, the adventure! Oh it was a must have! When I got the game for Christmas, it was unlike anything I had ever seen in a game, graphically or stylistically. The city of Midgar was rough and gritty. There were more mature themes and swearing than I had seen in games before. It put you into the action right away, generating excitement right from the beginning. It was like playing a movie. During the PSX era, I was just starting junior high school. It's a time of change for people that age, and it was no different for myself. Yet one of the things I remember most in this scary transitional period is playing Final Fantasy VII. It's never a particularly easy time for any teenager, but I always knew I could count on joining Cloud and the others to help save the planet! Associating the game with many other new things that were going on in this time of life is something that gives it extra meaning for me.
I feel that the game had something for everyone. It put you straight into the action with your first Avalanche mission and continued to lace the plot with exciting battles, chases and even escapes. There was romance between the characters, be it the blooming love between Tifa and Cloud, or the tragic tale of Vincent and Lucrecia. If stats and rolls are more your thing, the magic and equipment system gave means for seemingly endless tinkering and improvement. There was a message of hope, care, and devotion for all of us to share in this game. There was even a fair deal of angsty characters and scenes which gave something for teenagers to relate to. To a certain extent it follows in the footsteps of Star Trek or Lord of the Rings in the sense that it's a very vast and convincing sort of world created with its own mythology and history which gives it that immersive degree of believability and even tangibility. You truly feel like these are real people, places, and events that you're a part of.
What Final Fantasy VII means to each fan is very personal, but I think for all of us it goes beyond it just being a really great game. We all have something that makes us feel like we're a part of it, that makes going back to it feel like visiting old friends. Its sense of warmth, excitement, humanity, and life will surely keep this franchise in fans' hearts for years to come.
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