What makes the game so great?

I don't mean to be utterly vague, but I think FFVII has some intangible quality that you just can't put your finger on. It's like when you get those classic albums that just tend to capture everyone's imagination (stuff like Nevermind, Appetite for Destruction, Number of the Beast), and I think this game is the same. Although I am one of those people who considers FFVII to be the best, I think that there are others which come very close.

I do agree with Vladislak that the timing of its release has a big factor in the public's perception of the game. I don't however think "first FF nostalgia" is as big a factor as people make it out to be.
 
The first time I played FFVII was about three years ago. It was after I watched Advent Children and I liked the characters of the movie so much that I decided to buy and play the game. Well, if you already liked the movie, you're bound to fall in love with the game. Plus, the first RPG that I played is FFX, which I thought that I kinda sucked.

About the game itself; I really like that the past of almost all the characters are connected together in a subtile way. Also there are a lot of references and influences from other great and important works like the Bible. It wasn't an easy plot, as well. You really had to think a few times about certain aspects of the story before you really understood it.

Lastly, FFVII had Rufus :D
 
DarkClaymore said:
The only thing I never understood is Sephiroth's goal.
If he really wanted to accomplish what he said he wanted, he could at least kill the party. He had so many chances to do so. But he didn't!!!
If he noticed that Aerith is a threat to his plans and killed her, why then not to kill her friends as well? They are even greater threat.
Maybe not at that point, but he sure should have noticed they are a threat. Besides, Cloud already beat him up in the past, so he should have at least put more effort into finishing off the party.
Click to expand...
I've already covered all this in another thread, but just to reiterate, the party was not a bigger threat than Aeris.
She was summoning Holy to directly counter Meteor.
Jenova tried to kill your party in every encounter. And if there were any reason why she kept you alive, it was because
Sephiroth attempted to make Cloud a puppet to do his bidding (which he succeeded at on two occassions).
Cloud's relations with Sephiroth and Jenova completely added to the complexities of the game.

The goal was "to beat Sephiroth" as far as I understood.
So actually the whole things that happen in the game (aside the Beginning and the End ) just were forced in order to delay this "final battle" against Sephiroth.
Click to expand...
Wow, this is a really narrow-minded way of viewing things. Sorry, but no wonder you got 0 enjoyment out of it. The beginning and the end were the only relevant things in the story? Hahaha.

Okay then, you're a big fan of FF8 are you not?

FF8 Spoiler alert:

Tell me then, apart from all the irrelevant SeeD business in the beginning, what was your goal? To stop Sorceress Edea and the Galbadian garden from taking control of the other nations, was it not? And, hmm, you encounter her don't you? And the one guy who was specifically hired for his skill as a Sniper suddenly had an out-of-the-blue breakdown, right? So that by the time he did shoot, she completely had her defenses up. And after confrontation, you're locked up--oh, by the way, was Squall not made unconscious during this time? He and his party were directly trying to stop and kill her, but she didn't kill him? Hmm. Was that not all for the purpose of prolonging the game?

Then what? The Trabia and Balamb Garden threats right? Oh, but whilest in Trabia Garden, they all suddenly remember that everyone except Rinoa used to be an orphan under Edea! That it took this long in the game for them to remember was strictly a plot device. And the only explanation for it was, "Oh, gfs cause you memory loss"?? So then you make your way to Balamb, where the Galbadian Army is prepared for assault. They finally reach Edea, go through another Seipher battle, and finally defeat Edea. But oh wait, suddenly they learn of Ultimecia from the future, who controlled Edea (just like it turns out that you were in pursuit of Jenova throughout most of the game). Then she controls Rinoa, and you have to go through even more before Time Compression ever even occurs for you to get to Ultimecia--let me just stop myself here. How in the hell is this not all prolonging the plot?

EDIT: Oh! And it completely slipped my mind until now: What was the point of the playing through the Laguna plot? Did we really need all that? Was his backstory really so essential? Did it need to be such a big sidestory, even so much as making us level up characters that we can't even use for the be-all-end-all? THAT is filler.

/END FF8 SPOILERS

So tell me how any of that is not filler for the game, but FF7's content is? The kind of logic you attempted to apply to FF7 in your post can be applied to every game. The only real difference, is that FF7 had foreshadowing and mysteries going on with Cetra, Jenova, and Sephiroth. Whereas in FF8, you didn't even know lick split about "Ultimecia" until after you defeat Edea. Uhhh?

Essentially, the basic plot for each is the whole "save the planet, save the lives" routine, but with different spins. And FF7 certainly had its spins, because Sephiroth wasn't even the only thing you had to worry about. The group is also consistently at odds with Shinra, who are believed by AVALANCHE to threaten the world by extracting the Mako energy from the planet (all for economic and monopolous prosper). Both of you want Sephiroth taken care of, but have different ideals and methods that cause you to conflict. So really, there are three MAJOR factions in the game, between your party, Shinra, and Sephiroth & Jenova. That's more than most games can say. And along the way, you're learning about the past, the importance of Cetra, Jenova's involvement in their demise so long ago, why and how Jenova and Sephiroth are threats, the part that Shinra played in it all, Cloud's relationship with both of them, and other characters involvement with Sephiroth or Shinra.

You can attempt to claim it's filler, but Barret's story tied in with the Shinra plot line. Cid's story tied in with the Shinra plotline. Aeris was a Cetra, and her story was critical. Cloud and Tifa both had specific stories tied into Sephiroth. Vincent had ties to both Shinra and Sephiroth. Cait Sith had obvious ties to Shinra. And Red XIII's story, even if that WAS forced, teaches you more about the lifestream/Mako, which plays a part in both the goals of Sephiroth AND Shinra.

So please, I'd love to hear how any of this is filler. Because as I see it, it all ties together in a great web that takes you through the game. The only reason you've really given so far, is that you think everything is prolonging the final battle with Sephiroth. Aside from the fact that this can be said about EVERY game of its kind, you're completely ignoring Shinra's inclusion into everything, ignoring the planet's WEAPONS that threatened the earth, ignoring the different approaches taken to stop Sephiroth, ignoring that they were actually in pursuit of/encountering Jenova, etc... It's just kind of funny to hear that it's all filler, especially from an FFVIII fan. But if you don't see how all of it comes together, then it's no wonder that you don't enjoy/got bored of the plot.
---

EDIT: and to call it linear is a bit ridiculous as well. The game provides you with tons of options throughout. This game is no more linear than any other. And certainly nothing as linear as X. In fact, I fail to see how a game could be both "linear" and "filler", as these two terms often contradict one another.
 
Last edited:
Not neccesary a big FFVIII fan though... I like FFIX, FFX, FFXII more
But I liked it much better than FFVII.

Of course that everything tied together, or the plot will become totally awful.
They won't make just some random people join the party for no reason, right? Even though Yuffie maybe a little random one... but I like her anyway.

What I meant when using the term "filler", is something like that:
Each time I had to travel to a new place, the only thing I thought about was "about who I am going to learn next?". I hardly even remember why they went to all those places. I only remember the fact that for some reason, at (almost) every place you go , you learn about the characters.
It was so easy to predict that I'll learn about a character in the next place I am going to.

So it just didn't make me feel any "progress" in the term of plot.
Even though you travel and learn new things about Sephiroth, Lifestream, Promised Land and such, it seems a minor part of the game compared to how much you learn about the characters.
While Characters-Centered plot is nice IMO, I find them annoying when it comes to extreme level. And I think FFVII's plot is extremely Characters-Centered.

In FFVIII's plot wasn't much characters-centered and when you actually learn something about the characters, it comes as a surprise.
The only two characters that really developed are probably Squall and Rinoa. So it gives more chance to focus on the plot and to see how great it is, while in FFVII they force the player to focus on the characters.

FFIX had something similar to FFVII, as it was quite characters-centered.
But I found the characters in FFIX interesting on their own, even without their past and such, while in FFVII they all about their past and dreams/goals. For example: I didn't really like Cid's personality, but his dreams made him quite the great character.
On the other hand, I liked Vivi from the very beginning and he has a great backstory.
As well as the fact that in FFIX each character's part is smaller than in FFVII and I didn't have the feeling that I go to each place only in order to learn about the character. So I enjoyed FFIX a lot more than FFVII even though both are Characters-centered.



Anyway, now I am sure in one thing: I hate Sephiroth. Maybe that what is all about? The game is quite Sephiroth-centered after all


BTW, my enjoyment wasn't a total 0. I have a few FFs which I enjoyed less: FFII, FFIII. And I can admit that IMO FFVII is better than FFI and FFT, even though I liked their plots better than FFVII's.
Besides, if my enjoyment would have been 0, then I couldn't have finish the game.
 
Oh joy, here we go again.
Plot- It was simply thrilling at every turn for me, all 4 discs were action packed..... wow, i actually can't think of anything else to say for the plot that i haven't already said in other threads...
Characters- As the story progressed, you learned more and more about each of the characters, for example, you learned that Nanaki's (Red XIII)father Seto actually died defending Cosmo Canyon when everyone else had thought that he ran away at their time of greatest need.
Upgrading System- I highly agree with you about the materia system being favorite... however it could be extremely cheap... like with mime... and Knights of the Round.. and a bunch of other things. lmao
 
Hello

really fantastic game..........game should be simple and very impressive.
it's rocking.......:highfive:

Mod Edit: Can you try and be a bit more detailed please? Try adding more reasons as to why you like it.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top