RE: Final Fantasy VII's Grandeur

by Mike White

When comparing the greatness FF6 and FF7 sales are not the only consideration. FF7 sold better because it was marketed much more than any other RPG in history. Square got the attention of huge audience and gave them a game that was better looking than anything previous. A large amount of the sales came from people who, prior to FF7's release, didn't know what a Final Fantasy was. Also, RPGs were for a long time the game genre that only geeks play". The reason other great games like FF6 and Chrono Trigger sold worse than FF7 was because RPGs were not mainstream and were for "geeks".

In producing FF7, Square didn't necessarily produce an "epic adventure matched by no other" but a great game. It sold well because Square managed to destroy some "RPGs are for geeks" stereotypes and because the graphics were leaps and bounds ahead of the competition. As many people have said FF7 was the first RPG to go "main stream" and if other previous greats like FF6 or CT had went "main stream" then they would have sold well too. CT, in particular, had excellent graphics when it game out and was REALLY FUN but it wasn't for everybody cause RPGs weren't "cool" in the eyes of our pop-culture, fad-stricken, society.

Everyone who played FF7 liked or disliked it in varying degrees but many say, compared to other games, than character development was weaker and that the gameplay was worse. FF7 was a big success and was very influential but by RPG standards it graphics were it's best feature. In conclusion, FF7 was influential but can't be considered better than earlier FFs purely based of sales.