FF7

[Grandor]

FF9 was better then 7. It was cliched, but again what RPG isn't nowadays? 7's story was to complex for me to follow through with it, and for that reason I dislike it, along with the shity graphics. FF9 had small like 3d characters like FF7 but atleast their graphics were improved.

 

[Petros]

"There are no original stories, only new ways to tell them..."

And I believe Final Fantasy VII succeeded in ways that previous RPGs did not. Don't get me wrong I agree with you about Final Fantasy IV, but in the same respect, Final Fantasy VII was the next Final Fantasy IV.

 

[Diogo //Skyfusion//]

but in the same respect, Final Fantasy VII was the next Final Fantasy IV.

FFIV and FFVII were beneficial to the series for different reasons.

 

[Hoplite]

It was cliched, but again what RPG isn't nowadays? 7's story was to complex for me to follow through with it, and for that reason I dislike it

So you don't approve of cliches yet also don't appreciate an involved complex story? Very interesting that.

I'm only 20, so I have no idea what kind of cliches existed in '97; perhaps someone older would be so kind as to inform us?

 

[Rye]

To be honest, I really enjoyed Final Fantasy VII. I think that was the first time I cried in a game (well, after of course Crono died, but I cried when he died when I was older, not when I first played.) Also, I think FFVII made me really think about villains. Up until that, what have the FF villains been? Crazy dudes who want to rule the world. I can't think of a reason to like any of the previous ones. (Though, Kefka was just cool cause HE SUCCEEDED in killing the world). I liked Sephiroth because he had more depth than the rest did. (In my honest opinion.) He was pissed at the world for being a test subject, etc. etc. etc. etc.

And, I also liked Cloud's overt emotional drama. I mean, none of the other FFs before that really had any kind of emotional drama like Cloud had. For goodness sake, he thought he was Zack. That's pretty messed up. I guess Square could have made that a bit better, but I enjoyed it.

 

[G-man]

Lol Cloud was a whacko and will always strike me as one, he 's an imposter, a wannabee, there have been better spiky haired heros before him, and as for Seph, I feel everyone thinks he's to cool to look at his real story:
"C'mon mommie let's take over the world!" Lol thats the worst thing ever! Taking over the world with your dad is acceptable, but your mom? Who just made you your sack lunch!?

 

[Zankoku no Yami]

To be honest, I really enjoyed Final Fantasy VII. I think that was the first time I cried in a game (well, after of course Crono died, but I cried when he died when I was older, not when I first played.) Also, I think FFVII made me really think about villains. Up until that, what have the FF villains been? Crazy dudes who want to rule the world. I can't think of a reason to like any of the previous ones. (Though, Kefka was just cool cause HE SUCCEEDED in killing the world). I liked Sephiroth because he had more depth than the rest did. (In my honest opinion.) He was pissed at the world for being a test subject, etc. etc. etc. etc.

And, I also liked Cloud's overt emotional drama. I mean, none of the other FFs before that really had any kind of emotional drama like Cloud had. For goodness sake, he thought he was Zack. That's pretty messed up. I guess Square could have made that a bit better, but I enjoyed it.

Which is why I think FF7 was so great. None of the other FFs really involved you on such an emotional level, gave you a memberable bad guy, and more so, went INDEPH on a characters PSYCHE. First of all, you had a cherished member, Aerith, die on the first disc! Then, turns out your main character doesnt even really know who he is! Even the main bad guy was pretty indepth; more in which we'll most likely see in Crisis Core.

FF4 may have been the first one to apply character development (which, well, that is probably why I said i liked it so much), but FF5 and 6 didnt apply this same concept; at least, not well.

Also, people always critize the story on being cliched; but do you guys even know what was done back in 1997? I mean, it may be cliched NOW. I look back at the time these games were created and base their cliched ideas on that time frame. Aside from that; the mere depth and complexity of the story was also a first in the FF series. Something the previous ones just didnt offer (and when i call FF1-6 cliched, i mean, well... even back in their time, many of the ideas and characters were pretty run of the mill).

If anything, I blame the poor translation for most of our confusion when playing it. I bet if they bothered to remake it, we'd get a much more full experience story wise. But then again, i am sucker for compexity and hate when things are as straight forward as they seem. I like to keep guessing and even keep wondering far after the game is over.

 

[Rye]

Lol Cloud was a whacko and will always strike me as one, he 's an imposter, a wannabee, there have been better spiky haired heros before him, and as for Seph, I feel everyone thinks he's to cool to look at his real story:
"C'mon mommie let's take over the world!" Lol thats the worst thing ever! Taking over the world with your dad is acceptable, but your mom? Who just made you your sack lunch!?

What is wrong with wanting to take over the world with your mother? How is that any different than your father? Jeez. That's a dumb reason not to like him.

And how cares if there have been many heroes before Cloud? I can't remember one that had that much of a messed up mind.

 

[G-man]

Well the base Idea is just lame to me, and he takes it out on the whole world? why not just the guys who did the test on you? And as for Cloud, as for CLOUD, he was just a weird hero...period, Vincent would have made a better leader.

 

[Zankoku no Yami]

Lol Cloud was a whacko and will always strike me as one, he 's an imposter, a wannabee, there have been better spiky haired heros before him, and as for Seph, I feel everyone thinks he's to cool to look at his real story:
"C'mon mommie let's take over the world!" Lol thats the worst thing ever! Taking over the world with your dad is acceptable, but your mom? Who just made you your sack lunch!?

Did you even bother to look past the simplicity of all that? Cloud was not a 'whacko'. He was suffering from being injected with mako and could not come back to reality. So in an attempt to save him, Zack installed these false memories into his head by telling him HE was the one who did all this. Merely using psychology to save his dear friend in hopes that the two could start a new life over in Midgard. Not to mention, with that, Zack's story is also very tragic and beautiful.

Then we got Sephiroth, who was first thought to just be an experiment. But his 'mother' was really an alien that fed off planets and when one would die, moved to the next. There is no 'daddy' in this case. How is that the worst thing ever? You are pretty dense, i'd have you to know.

EDIT: Oh, and i now remember one other reason FF7 and on were great. The main characters past is actually centered around what is going on. Cloud's past with Sephiroth, Squall's past with Laguna and the orphanage, Zidane's past with his race and what not, and Tidus' being dreamt into the world so that he could save it. I dunno, just sounds better than a random normal kid suddenly having to save the world.

 

[Rye]

Sephiroth loved his "mother" so much and he hated the world which turned him basically into a test subject. Hojo was just treating him like one. Why not blow up the world with your mother? And Sephiroth just went crazy because of all of that. He was probably not thinking rationally. If you think about it.

 

[G-man]

XD why not? But FF7 still had it's stupid moments, wow guys we're locked up lets go to sleep.....oh no we're up and everyone in the whole place is dead except for the entire party, who happened to all go to sleep.

 

[Zankoku no Yami]

Sephiroth loved his "mother" so much and he hated the world which turned him basically into a test subject. Hojo was just treating him like one. Why not blow up the world with your mother? And Sephiroth just went crazy because of all of that. He was probably not thinking rationally. If you think about it.

Not to mention, we all know what they DID to his mother, right? If I was her son, i'd be pretty dang peeved too.

XD why not? But FF7 still had it's stupid moments, wow guys we're locked up lets go to sleep.....oh no we're up and everyone in the whole place is dead except for the entire party, who happened to all go to sleep.

... name a single game that doesnt have stupid moments? No one game is perfect in every aspect or makes the most sense. Hell, its fantasy. Since when is there any concrete logic? They can summon monsters from stones for pete sakes! Every game shares stupid moments, its the important parts such as story line, characters, and gameplay that really matter.

 

[Hoplite]

XD why not? But FF7 still had it's stupid moments, wow guys we're locked up lets go to sleep.....oh no we're up and everyone in the whole place is dead except for the entire party, who happened to all go to sleep.

... Are you serious? Clutching at straws much?

 

[G-man]

O_o what, you stared at this topic 10 mins to say that? I was just stating a scene from the game that I remember, and furthermore, you're right Zan, no game is perfect, but this game had to many "just no" scenes for me, infact as I've stated before Final Fantasy, is just the same story, chopped up and mixed up, and smacked back on the table for production. Yes Cloud was the first Blonde Haired Protagonist,but his personality isn't the first. Many heros have dark pasts.

 

[Diogo //Skyfusion//]

FF4 may have been the first one to apply character development (which, well, that is probably why I said i liked it so much), but FF5 and 6 didnt apply this same concept; at least, not well.

Actually, FFVI followed the same concept than FFIV. It had musical themes for each character, and there were a lot of cutscenes developing them: many of them jsut happen to be optional/ missable.

I mean, it may be cliched NOW. I look back at the time these games were created and base their cliched ideas on that time frame.

FFIV is a good example of that. Characters like Aeris, Garnet and Yuna have all followed the stereotypical that Rosa had brought to the genre, for example.

Aside from that; the mere depth and complexity of the story was also a first in the FF series. Something the previous ones just didnt offer (and when i call FF1-6 cliched, i mean, well... even back in their time, many of the ideas and characters were pretty run of the mill).

FFIV and FFVI had some of the most original characters for their time. Half of FFVII's cast was cliche even for its time.

And although Sephiroth's backstory is good, I still find him to be a sucky and poorly-written character when it comes to his intentions and personality, both of which can be resumed to: "I am a madman, and I will summon a meteor so I and Jenova can be gods". Bland, and to make things worse, he falls into the category of the dumb villains that love to tell their plans to the main characters for no reason. And end up failing in the end because of that. So Sephiroth is nothing more but yet-another-evil-villain, that just happens to have a well-thought past. And backstory is not good enough to make me like Sephiroth as a character. However, I think the story did well in making the player respecting him, by either making it clear that he was always ahead of the party, or showing a demonstration of his power every once in a while (plus the disk 1's death scene).

I'm not surprised that people find him memorable, but I just can't agree with those who think he is the greatest villain ever, or one of the best. Vayne from FFXII might not have lived to his potential, but I still find him to be much better than Sephy. And Seymour is about as good as Sephy, which is not saying much as he is one of my least favourite FFX's characters. Kuja had a lot more depth as well, by not only having an equally-good backstory, but by actually being smart, and by having actually reasons to justify his acts than just "I have a dark past, I'm now a madman".

EDIT:

Oh, and i now remember one other reason FF7 and on were great. The main characters past is actually centered around what is going on. Cloud's past with Sephiroth, Squall's past with Laguna and the orphanage, Zidane's past with his race and what not, and Tidus' being dreamt into the world so that he could save it. I dunno, just sounds better than a random normal kid suddenly having to save the world.

Cecil's family and homeplanet are linked to what was going on, Bartz's father was one of the men responsible for the events that take place, Terra's origins are what what makes her the key of the story... Why were FFVII and on so great again?

 

[Grandor]

To be honest, I really enjoyed Final Fantasy VII. I think that was the first time I cried in a game (well, after of course Crono died, but I cried when he died when I was older, not when I first played.) Also, I think FFVII made me really think about villains. Up until that, what have the FF villains been? Crazy dudes who want to rule the world. I can't think of a reason to like any of the previous ones. (Though, Kefka was just cool cause HE SUCCEEDED in killing the world). I liked Sephiroth because he had more depth than the rest did. (In my honest opinion.) He was pissed at the world for being a test subject, etc. etc. etc. etc.

And, I also liked Cloud's overt emotional drama. I mean, none of the other FFs before that really had any kind of emotional drama like Cloud had. For goodness sake, he thought he was Zack. That's pretty messed up. I guess Square could have made that a bit better, but I enjoyed it.

If your thinking about villian depth, Kuja from FF9 also had depth like you explain. Kuja wanted to end the world and he thought he was doing the world a service because by ending the world he could end suffering and pain.

 

[Rye]

Hey, I said up UNTIL FF7. I remember Kuja. I loved Kuja.

 

[G-man]

most FF villians struck me as, well a little fruity, I'd say Seymour had to be the worst tho

 

[LightAndMagic]

I think FFVII gets lot of flak because of uncontrollable annoying fanboys and girls. I'd still consider it to be a great game. It had an innovative and interesting environment, that while may have been seen before, was cretainly unique for it's time, especially Midgar. The characters in most cases were interesting, had an interesting backstory, and fun personalities. In my opinion, it has an amazing soundtrack, which was brilliantly written. And I enjoyed the story, and for it's time, it really wasn't all that cliche.

The only thing I didn't like was Sephiroth. I feel his reason for trying to destroy/whatever you want to call it the world was weak. I found his personality to be kinda boring, I get the sinistry behind him, but it felt so overdone. I'd take a villian like Luca Blight over him anyday. And when you consider what he actually managed to complete (it doesn't matter their ultimate goal if they don't complete it) all he managed to do was burn down a small village in the mountains, and kill a flower girl. And when you compare that to other villians, just for consistency sake, let's compare it to other FF villians. Like Kuja who wiped out a whole race, put another in the threat of extinction, and destroyed something like three major cities. Or Kefka, who actually managed to complete his plan, and totally changed the whole world.

I just feel as if his overall accomplishments don't add to much.

Despite this though, I still find FFVII to be a great game, and I think some people just hate it because it's popular. Still nothing compared to FFIX (at least in my opinion).