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I never got that. I'm not saying that I didnt like it but I like most of the other games as much or better.

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In order to be politically correct, I am no longer a "White Person," I am a Caucasian-American.

Well it was in technical terms it was a landmark being the first 3D final fantasy. also the story line playability and characters are amazing. maybe cause you instantly love it when you start playing. and you know the graphics suck but thats my favorite game ever. but thats my opinion.

Edit

i think also some of the reason was that it came out for playstaion and appealed to the "younger generation" it was able to reach more people.

This post has been edited by Suizan Tenshi on 1st July 2006 18:37

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Sata Tsubasa no Tenshi-

Barret - "Cloud the group has been talking and we feel that its time for a new leader."
Cloud - "Judas explain your treachery!!"

Some people say its sad when I can walk them through FFVII in my head. I call it a gift.

It was a great game but i still think FFVII and FFVI are as good or better. IV was great too. Honestly VII was the only game that I beat completely.

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In order to be politically correct, I am no longer a "White Person," I am a Caucasian-American.

This is an excellent topic, and I think it's the first time it's been brought up. Most other threads focus on why FFVII is "the best" Final Fantasy.

So why is it so popular? I think there are a lot of reasons. First of all, when Nintendo held a practical monopoly on the market, Square had to put up with a lot of Nintendo's demands. The most famous of these was Nintendo's censorship policies.

However, I think Square was freed up in a lot of other ways by going to Sony. At the time, Final Fantasy FFVII's graphics were top of the line. In an era when people were looking for the "next big thing," and had only recently become accustomed to 3D graphics, that was a very big selling point. In fact, probably the biggest. As I remember, all of the commercials featured the FMVs. I'd go so far as to say there might not have been a single screenshot showing actual in-game play in any of the commercials. I remember the same kids who made fun of me and my friends for playing Final Fantasy all of a sudden found it "cool" after seeing the commercials.

After getting the game, I think what trapped a lot of new fans into the series is the anime-type quality GMH talked about in this thread. I was never a big fan of anime, but having become a bigger fan since they started showing it on Adult Swim, I'd have to say that Glenn has a point. Even though the earlier FF games also have anime-like qualities, FFVII took the series in a totally different direction.

Having not really watched anime at the time though, what attracted me to FFVII was the total break with the other Final Fantasies. For the slight differences between the earlier games, they all looked and played pretty much the same way. FFVII brought in a totally different character designer, and before I knew that the rest of his games would do nothing but recycle the same character designs over and over again, Nomura's designs were a breath of fresh air. Stylistically, FFVII was nothing like it's predecessors. It had a more modern, and more mature, theme. For better or for worse, it played like an interactive movie more than any game before it, and set the trend for that kind of style.

Then there was the story. Though it's obvious that a lot was added as it went along, and some find the story very confusing, when you find those few extra cut scenes the story really does piece together quite nicely. Now, there are a lot of unexplained elements as to how a situation got from point A to point B, and much is left open to interpretation, but the overall structure of the story is coherent. I would say it's the most complicated story I've read that actually makes sense once you piece it together.

Finally, and this is the reason I still love the game years later, it had enough in it to keep you coming back for more. The Weapons, the Golden Saucer, Chocobo breeding, Fort Condor, hidden materia, the limit breaks. There was next to no end to the side quests. Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems like a whole lot more than any FF before or after. To this day, I haven't completed them all.

And those are all the reasons I can think of at the moment.

Quote (Zantetsuken @ 1st July 2006 14:29)

It was a great game but i still think FFVII and FFVI are as good or better. IV was great too. Honestly VII was the only game that I beat completely.

Umm...FFVII IS FF7.
VII = 7.
Unless you meant VIII (8).

Anyways, part of the reason is that it was the first 3d Final Fantasy rpg and of the first RPG's on the Playstation, it was the sequel to FFVI which was a huge success, so it had a lot of hype going for it, not to mention it probably recieved the most North American publicity out of most of the Final Fantasy games. It's unique Materia system and interesting (though sometimes ridiculously plot-hole filled) story line and easy to like or hate characters.

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Okay, but there was a goat!

Well for one the graphics when it came out were great. Another would be the story it is awsome if you can follow it. Also I personally love the materia system it's kinda different than the other FF games.

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Cloud
"let's Mosey"

Quote (Cloud720 @ 1st July 2006 19:54)

Well for one the graphics when it came out were great. Another would be the story it is awsome if you can follow it. Also I personally love the materia system it's kinda different than the other FF games.

In a nutshell.

This post has been edited by Silver 09 on 1st July 2006 20:36

Actually what a lot of people don't realize is that FFVII was filled with puzzles, especially in the beginning, FFs 1-6 all had puzzles, but no where near as much as VII. VII also had many minigames and sidequest, for instance taking a break and heading to gold saucer to go snowboarding could be done anytime after doing the initial mingame.

After that being the true reason FFVII is favored here is some sprinkles and cherry to put on the ice cream

-Sephitroth: Long ass katana, Black clothing, Kickass anime hair, silent powerful warrior gone crazy. Fanboys just love him

-Vincent: Sad dark past, enigmatic, great personality, versatile between fighter and mage, Moprhs into monsters for a limit

-Also had one of the better plots out of thye FF series

p.s. if any of you guys doubt the mini-game/puzzle theory play through again and count all the minigames and puzzles. Then play 8 and notice the absence of minigames and puzzles, unless you like triple triad.

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"Have you ever seen a baby do that before?"

It was the first RPG that extensive marketing went into. I remember seeing ads for this game, but not for FFIV and FFVI, which I got into via my friends. This is what I think. Square intentionally tried to make FFVII their cash cow, and succeeded. Also, I think the whole Shinra thing was appealing to casual gamers. It appealed to me, at least (the Sephiroth thing did not). -CSM

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It was the first FF released worldwide, as compared to just NA and JP. Obviously, since so many people got their first taste of FF it would become popular. I didn't even know people had to think about it.

And it was the only game where the characters had anime-ish designs, the rest had realisitic designs. Don't know where this came from. You can only really see it in the menu portraits.

If we're going to try downing a game by it's character designs, then the Tactics characters have no noses. There.

Edit: X had a lot of (sometimes extreme) minigames and puzzles, and especially optional bosses, and FFIX just had an extreme amount of stuff to do. So I think VII has the normal amount of sidequests...though it had more than it's predecessors, I'd say.

This post has been edited by Zeromus_X on 2nd July 2006 00:17

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OSonic Rave
/ \Last Arcanum
[ ]Strike Raid
XRagnarok

The amount of postgame and replay content available is what I think keeps it popular
among most current gamers, but I think it's strength is that it's on the Playstation.
Everyone has a Playstation (one out of three americans have one; I don't know the
stats for europe or asia), which means with either legacy or reverse-compatible
hardware, virtually everyone can play it. Combine that with the huge amount of
produced units, and it means that the greatest cross-section of gamers (casual and
hardcore alike) had, have, and continue to receive the chance to play it. Finally,
I think it's 3D nature is pivotal to our appreciation: it's the storyline and connection
to the plot and characters that bring me back to my FFIV, FFV, and FFVI rereleases,
but if I could wish them into a modern game engine I would. FFVII is old-
school enough for gamer cred and people-just-getting-into-gaming that want to
sample the classics, but not so oldschool that it's sprited/pixelated into oblivion.

After all, one thing I love about FFT is not just the game mechanics depth, but the
rotating and challenging battlegrounds---a key feature on a console capable of true
rendering. A more modern game with the same gameplay but lacking environmental
dynamics---and by this I mean FFTA---never captivated me the way FFT did.

MetroidMorphBall's right: this is definitely a topic I enjoy seeing other gamers weigh
in with their opinions. Great forum post, Zantetsuken.

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Putting the A's in W lm rt: A11smart, Jobclass: Retailer.

FF7 is my favorite because of its storyline and all around gameplay. The materia was a very simple, yet deceivingly intricate system of battle along with the accessories and such. But all in all, I think it was because you can really relate to the characters on a personal level. The storyline heightens this and adds to the personal feeling with its love triangles but equally awesome fight/end of the world story.

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"Shut up. You're making me sober..."
-Reno

*Ryoko*

Quote (A11smart @ 1st July 2006 22:10)

MetroidMorphBall's right: this is definitely a topic I enjoy seeing other gamers weigh
in with their opinions. Great forum post, Zantetsuken.

Thank you


I think the reason that its popular is also because you could relate to the characters. People of all types (and a tiger-thing) join together and become friends. People actually go through changes. Their pasts are reflected upon frequently.

This was technically the first game to have limit breaks (which are very much like FFX's overdrives). VI had a system where if you were near fatal, you could do a stronger attack. In 7, you could learn new skills for your limit breaks. Not all limit breaks are purely offensive attacks either. Some heal while others make your party stronger. Some even transform your character into a monster.

And, we can't forget about the side quests. Emerald Weapon and Ruby Weapon both were way stronger than Sephiroth. Plus you could go snowboarding. and the chocobos.

The summons in this game were awsome! Three forms of bahamut. Normally i am a sucker for the classics but THREE BAHAMUTS! And Bahamut Zero kicked ass. Knights of the Round were cool to watch and i was blown away by the damage the first time i summoned it.

I thought the plot was easy to follow. I like when games and stories leave thing to the player's/reader's imagination. FFVII didnt leave too much either as long as u didnt skip the convos.

Plus the soundtrack!

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In order to be politically correct, I am no longer a "White Person," I am a Caucasian-American.

I Like The Graphics Even Though Their A Bit Wacked Sometimes
And The Story Lines Good With Sephiroth And All That

And I Like The Black Chocobobo Its Black!

This post has been edited by |- Emo Tional -| on 3rd July 2006 03:07

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Cloud :Are Sin's.. Ever Forgiven?
Vincent :..Ive Never Tried..



[email protected]

this was squares make it or break it game..so yeah if it failed then it would ahve been the last one...just think no mroe final fantasys lol..i dunno to i liked every character in this one i mean come on the main character is s bad ass dude Then you got Cid and Vincent i dont have to bother explaning them..not to mention the totally wicked villian i love the cut of him walking intot he flames i save it seperate to whatch it voer and over.basically there is nothing worng with this game.

Something like this:
Final Fantasy 7 was the first Final Fantasy to be spawned on a 32-Bit Console.
It was in fact a major step for the Final Fantasy series as it was also the first to feature 3D polygonal characters and to have a re-release as an International Version.
This would also be the first Final Fantasy to be officially released on the PC.

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It takes 2 people and a weapon
to commit a murder

Yesterday is history, Tomorrow is mystery,
today is a gift, thats why we call it the present.

Quote (Cloud @ 3rd July 2006 02:15)

this was squares make it or break it game..so yeah if it failed then it would ahve been the last one...just think no mroe final fantasys lol..i dunno to i liked every character in this one i mean come on the main character is s bad ass dude Then you got Cid and Vincent i dont have to bother explaning them..not to mention the totally wicked villian i love the cut of him walking intot he flames i save it seperate to whatch it voer and over.basically there is nothing worng with this game.

now, i like the game, don't get me wrong, but it wasnt perfect. They did have some plot holes. Plus i think sephiroth's leather suit woulda gotten melted and fused to his body cuz he was standing in the flames.

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In order to be politically correct, I am no longer a "White Person," I am a Caucasian-American.

I wasn't into this game when it first came out. The technology sucked away at the magical world I always enjoyed in Final Fantasy.

It took me years to warm to the concept (believe it or not, I skipped 7-9, but got addicted to the series again playing 10). Now, after seeing Final Fantasy Advent Children, I'm going back to playing the game. As I go through it, I am starting to get a real feel for the characters and the seperate emotions they have for their individual causes. Barret being my favorite, with a heart filled with Justice!

I'm starting to understand why people love the Turks so much, now, too.

And unlike FF I-VI, the characters are starting to spread out, with semi-sequel games or cameos in other games, which means character likes FF VII aren't going to go stale, and this is appealing to me. Dirge of Cereburs, though I have no idea what it's about, has me excited just because it shows these characters aren't going to fade with a only single game to remember them by.

Creating an epic like that, now that is a Final Fantasy to remember.

Quote

Creating an epic like that, now that is a Final Fantasy to remember.

That's just beauty, mon. Simple sentence of reminiscent eloquence.

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Putting the A's in W lm rt: A11smart, Jobclass: Retailer.

dirge of cerburues oh yes lol with Vincent the greatest chracter of all time...it hits shelfs Aug 22nd..buuuuut having a cousin as a sony game tester ill be getting mine a lot sooner.Ill elt you guys you knwo how it checks out

Quote (Cloud @ 4th July 2006 00:22)

hits shelfs Aug 22nd..buuuuut having a cousin as a sony game tester ill be getting mine a lot sooner.Ill elt you guys you knwo how it checks out

lol not to be mean but i doubt that, i used to say that all the time

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In order to be politically correct, I am no longer a "White Person," I am a Caucasian-American.

Quote (MetroidMorphBall)

I think what trapped a lot of new fans into the series is the anime-type quality GMH talked about in this [other] thread.

Because I'm lazy, I'm just going to copy the content over. It's about spinoffs, but it also relates to why FFVII is so popular in the first place (and thus explains the economicality of the spinoffs themselves).

Quote (Glenn Magus Harvey)

The way I see it is this: Final Fantasy VII's "commercialization" created a fanbase that wasn't much like the fanbase of the older FF gamers. This "new generation" consisted much more heavily of non-gamers and animé fans, and it makes sense that they'd demand (and produce, via fan-works) a lot more of stuff that's more motivated by storyline (or relating to it) and/or graphics. Part of the reason the newer FFs are the way they are is because of the influence of this fanbase on Square's/Squenix's success--products have to sell well, right? What better way than to cater to those in your fanbase?

Here's a summary of the difference: There are the "gamers" that games like FFT appeals to, reusing the idea of character classes and focusing on the core of the game's actual "game value", and there are the "non-gamers" who churn out fanfics and fanart and even (gasp!) porn, and go on to demanding movies and figurines and stuff like that. This is NOT an accurate or precise distinction among people, but I'm just trying to explain my point, which is that I believe FFVII attracted a lot more people of the latter "kind" than the former.*

Note that FFVII itself has several things that make it appeal relatively well to this type of people:
- Very complex and involved plot.
- First attempts at realism--or in other words, 3D graphics. Characters are no longer pixelated sprites that scream "this is a game".
- First usage of FMVs in the FF series.
- Animé-ish character design--significantly more so than in previous games. (Sprites with big eyes don't count.)

And even possibly--
- Character with large boobs.
- Bishie.

Edit

-Gothy, dark, mysterious, vampire-like character.

That would kinda explain the spinoffs--the spinoffs relate to a game that, by now, even has nostalgia value for these fans. It was their first FF, (for some) their first foray into RPGs perhaps, and even (for a few) the first game they played and enjoyed (because, let's face it, FFVII is a quite well designed game, even if I don't think it's that great).

* If this doesn't quite make sense to you, think of it this way: the difference between someone who'd see a battle in a Naruto episode and think "Naruto tactical strategy game a la FFTA?" and someone who'd see a battle in a Naruto episode and think "fanfic!" or "this hints at romance!".

Quote (MetroidMorphBall)

FFVII brought in a totally different character designer, and before I knew that the rest of his games would do nothing but recycle the same character designs over and over again, Nomura's designs were a breath of fresh air.

Not like Amano's character designs were taken that seriously anyway, consideirng their style.

Quote (Cloud_Strife510)

-Sephitroth: Long ass katana, Black clothing, Kickass anime hair, silent powerful warrior gone crazy. Fanboys just love him

-Vincent: Sad dark past, enigmatic, great personality, versatile between fighter and mage, Moprhs into monsters for a limit

And that's kinda where I was going. Notice that there are a lot of stereotypes--Aeris is much like a damsel in distress plus legendary princess; Sephy and Vincent are described in your post, Barret is the tough guy with a soft heart, Cloud is the "I don't care and didn't want to become part of the plot anyway" protagonist, and Red XIII shows definite Native American/"indigenous peoples" influence. These stereotypes may have made the game more readily approachable to some fans.

Quote (CSM)

It was the first RPG that extensive marketing went into. I remember seeing ads for this game, but not for FFIV and FFVI, which I got into via my friends. This is what I think. Square intentionally tried to make FFVII their cash cow, and succeeded.

That's also true, although I doubt that they were specifically aiming for this game to be their cash cow. They just wanted to make themselves a bigger customer base and to make themselves a bigger name, and succeeded--perhaps too well.

Quote (Silpheed)

Barret being my favorite, with a heart filled with Justice!

I'm starting to understand why people love the Turks so much, now, too.

Barret's also my favorite character.

But the Turks' theme music is rather lame, in my opinion.

But yeah, I think there's a lot to be said about the use of FMVs. While I don't like it--I play a game for the fun value, not to watch a movie, personally--but I'm sure that feature added to its appeal for many new fans. As MetroidMorphBall said,

Quote

As I remember, all of the commercials featured the FMVs. I'd go so far as to say there might not have been a single screenshot showing actual in-game play in any of the commercials. I remember the same kids who made fun of me and my friends for playing Final Fantasy all of a sudden found it "cool" after seeing the commercials.

And also as MMB said, 3D graphics were the "new cool thing" at the time, and that was one of the things that got new fans hooked.

There're two parts to making a new fanbase. There's attracting people to your product, and then there's keeping them. Square did both quite well here--as for the second, again, FFVII is a well-designed game, even if some of us here (myself included) don't quite like it that much. 3D graphics and FMVs--stuff that can be visually shown on trailers and commercials--did the first part, and stuff like the complex, detailed plot and the soundtrack did the second. In comparison, older FFs may be just as good ("keeping them"), but were not marketed as well or "designed to appeal" in a similar manner.

I strongly hope that Squenix does another Super-Mario-RPG-like game, though--and market that rigorously. That would REALLY increase their customer base.

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Check the "What games are you playing at the moment?" thread for updates on what I've been playing.

You can find me on the Fediverse! I use Mastodon, where I am @[email protected] ( https://sakurajima.moe/@glennmagusharvey )

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lol not to be mean but i doubt that, i used to say that all the time

dont worry about it i get it all the time but i am serious ill take some pics abd upload them

The FMVs definetly caught eyes and made people think "this is friggin sweet, I gotta try it" And it was aimed at more than a specific audience.

I have a question. Does anyone know if it's as popular in Japan? I imagine that it's adored sure, but is it liked as much?


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Dead Winter. A nice comic.

Quote (Glenn Magus Harvey @ 4th July 2006 16:04)

But the Turks' theme music is rather lame, in my opinion.

Ah, well that's suprising. I thought it was the music that appealed to so many people. Certainly me and my friends all played games with good music (so we could try and play it on the piano and occasionally guitar). FFVII has the best music in any game that I know of. Except maybe Deus Ex. Can a more technically minded individual please tell me if this is the first time the FF series ditched... eh... polyphonic (?) sound and used... the new one... Thanks. It was the good music which appealled to me.

Especially the Turks' music . Obvious other ones are the Boss Music and One Wined Angel. The other unsung heroes are the Forgotten City music (very deep sound) and the "unplugged" acoustic version of... no idea what it's called... we hear briefly in the Rocket when we first meet Cid. Also when we see the flashback of Tifa being falling in her youth and her dad blaming Cloud, that music is enjoyable.

The point of all this is that I had a strong feeling the one of the reasons FFVII is so popular is due to the flawless soundtrack. That's what usually passes between my friends and causes us to buy games.

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Scepticism, that dry rot of the intellect, had not left one entire idea in his mind.

Me on the Starcraft.

Yes, you can be assured that it is popular in Japan.

At any rate, I'm still not getting this 'it attracts fans of anime so that's how it became popular' thing. It was the only one to even have anime-ish designs, and only in the characters designs and menu portraits. The rest either had Amano or a real approach. Can't anyone just understand that it is adored by fans who have the same sense of nostalgia as the people who played the older games? That it was the first taste of the series the whole world enjoyed? Or is it because they haven't played a game that's old enough or something? This continues to alude me.



This post has been edited by Zeromus_X on 5th July 2006 21:42

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OSonic Rave
/ \Last Arcanum
[ ]Strike Raid
XRagnarok

i thikn its the most because
1. the playstation came out and people wanted a awesome game
2. the crazy awesome story line
3. the way cloud looks ( i got friends who just like the game bc of it)
4. there are japanese pervs out there who like tifa
5. the story line will make you think and make u keep playing amd makin other ppl play it

Quote

Ah, well that's suprising. I thought it was the music that appealed to so many people. Certainly me and my friends all played games with good music (so we could try and play it on the piano and occasionally guitar). FFVII has the best music in any game that I know of. Except maybe Deus Ex. Can a more technically minded individual please tell me if this is the first time the FF series ditched... eh... polyphonic (?) sound and used... the new one... Thanks. It was the good music which appealled to me.

Especially the Turks' music tongue.gif. Obvious other ones are the Boss Music and One Wined Angel. The other unsung heroes are the Forgotten City music (very deep sound) and the "unplugged" acoustic version of... no idea what it's called... we hear briefly in the Rocket when we first meet Cid. Also when we see the flashback of Tifa being falling in her youth and her dad blaming Cloud, that music is enjoyable.

Actually, I'm less of a fan of such tracks as the Turks' theme and OWA, and more of a fan of such tracks as Jenova Absolute, Tifa's Theme, Cid's Theme, Cait Sith's Theme, Bombing Mission, and Great Warrior. The soundtrack isn't flawless, I'd say, but it's definitely one of Uematsu's top-tier soundtracks.

Quote

At any rate, I'm still not getting this 'it attracts fans of anime so that's how it became popular' thing.

Well, on one hand, it looks more anime-ish, but past that, it also has a more complex plot--one that's more suited for a TV series or movie, in my opinion, than a game. People who watch anime series are more likely to find the plot appealing than they are to find some of the simpler plots of earlier FFs appealing.

Nostalgia for "first FF game experienced" is a separate factor from anime influences.

Sooner or later, I'm going to post in or make anew a topic on the complexity of FFVII's plot and whether it was "fit" for the RPG medium.

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Check the "What games are you playing at the moment?" thread for updates on what I've been playing.

You can find me on the Fediverse! I use Mastodon, where I am @[email protected] ( https://sakurajima.moe/@glennmagusharvey )

My favorites of FF7 are Sephiroth & One-Winged Angel

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I'm finally back, everyone! It's been months, maybe even a year since I last visited this website!

Quote (cloud_alone @ 9th July 2006 13:43)

i thikn its the most because
1. the playstation came out and people wanted a awesome game
2. the crazy awesome story line
3. the way cloud looks ( i got friends who just like the game bc of it)
4. there are japanese pervs out there who like tifa
5. the story line will make you think and make u keep playing amd makin other ppl play it

well, locke, cecil, and squall are all way cooler than cloud... I can't argue with the storyline but i could only play it once.

Squall even had a better set of weapons.

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In order to be politically correct, I am no longer a "White Person," I am a Caucasian-American.