I find it pretty interesting that two of my
favorite rpgs, Chrono Trigger and Final Fantasy VII, have a closely tied development history.
Planning sessions for Final Fantasy VII were first held in 1994, and its initial concept
was vastly different from the game we'd get our hands on three years later. It was originally
planned to be another sprite based game developed for the super nintendo, and was supposed to
take place in a modern day New York setting. According to Tetsuya Nomura, the origina
l
script was a detective story where the player followed an investigation in pursuit of the
main characters. However, several of the staff members chosen to work on Final Fantasy VII
were also in the middle of development on Chrono Trigger, so planning had to be put
on hold once Chrono Trigger really began to take shape. As a result, many of the ideas
originally intended for Final Fantasy VII made their way into Chrono Trigger, and others,
like the modern day New York setting, made their way int
o later games developed by Square
such as Parasite Eve. Development on Final Fantasy VII officially
began in 1995, more than a full year after the release of Final Fantasy VI. Square had
been discussing the possibility of developing an RPG in 3D for some time, ever since the
development of Final Fantasy 5 actually, but it wasn’t until 1995 that that possibility
became a reality. In the time between the release of Final Fantasy VI and the beginning
of Final Fantasy VII’s development, Square produ
ced their first fully 3D rendered tech
demo called Final Fantasy SGI. The demo featured three characters from Final Fantasy VI, Locke,
Terra, and Shadow, battling against a large earth elemental monster, and the experiment
was seen as such a success that many of the design mechanics were carried over into Final
Fantasy VII itself. However, because of the immense memory storage requirements, it became
quickly evident that developing a full game on this scale would be incredibly expensive,
especia
lly to produce on cartridges. This, of course, created a fundamental problem.
Nintendo had been hard at work on their next generation console, the Ultra 64, later known
as the Nintendo 64, which was announced to feature a rom cartridge design. This lead
to a dispute between Square and Nintendo which resulted in the tumultuous end of the companies’
long relationship. In the end, Square had had enough with cutting content in order to
fit limitations of cartridge based consoles, and once Sakaguchi
had a clearer vision of
what it was he and his team had in the works, he knew he couldn’t let it happen again.
He decided to take Final Fantasy VII to Sony’s Playstation instead. Final Fantasy VII was the most ambitious title
Square had ever undertaken. It was an absolutely massive project, requiring the efforts of
roughly 120 artists and programmers. It was the most expensive video game ever produced
in its time, with a budget that, after adjusting for inflation, would be the equivalent of
70 m
illion dollars today. For the series’ first journey into the realm of 3D, square
spared no expense on its software packages, acquiring some of the most advanced programs
used in hollywood films at the time. With dozens of new faces working on this state-of-the-art
technology, Sakaguchi, Kitase, and many of the veteran developers of the series found
themselves in awe by what they were achieving. The size, scope, and passion that fueled the
project were electrifying. They were coding a classic, an
d they knew it. However, these
internal successes did not come without reservations, especially after Sony put 100 million dollars
of its own money into an expansive advertising campaign. This marketing push undoubtedly
put immense pressure on the development team, creating an expectation for sales figures
far beyond what the series had ever been able to achieve in the past, and with the stakes
for the game’s success set at such extraordinary heights, I’m sure the realization that the
company’s
future was now dependant on this singular title lingered incessantly in the
minds of Square’s top developers. But if the intro sequence of the game is any
indication… I’d say Square nailed it. The intro of Final Fantasy VII is easily my
favorite in the series, and probably my favorite of any video game. It’s an incredibly engaging
sequence, due to the perfect combination and unity of the sum of its parts. The use of
advanced camera techniques like these had never been seen on this level in any v
ideo
game before. The dolly out as Aeris exits the alley, followed by the crane out that
reveals the enormous, post industrial city of Midgar - the reveal of the game’s title
at the climax of an absolutely outstanding intro piece composed once again by Nobuo Uematsu,
followed by the crane and dolly in on an entirely separate sector of the city - enhanced by
the fresh and innovative art design. All of the these features accomplished in full, what
Final Fantasy VI had started three years earlier.
At this point no one knew what to expect from this game. It was fresh, it was new,
and it was altogether unlike any Final Fantasy before it. The game begins in Midgar, a city where the
mega corporation known as the Shinra Electric Power Company has made its headquarters. Having
built its empire on the refining of Mako - which is essentially the planet’s life force - the
player is pitted against Shinra from within an radical environmentalist group called AVALANCHE
in a unique twist on the rebel t
heme seen commonly throughout the series. Though many
were opposed to Shinra’s methods, the company had become large and powerful enough to rise
as a governing force in the world, having its own military and police divisions to silence
any who might oppose them. The story literally explodes out of the gates as AVALANCHE sets
out on a mission to destroy one of the eight Mako reactors within the city. This is where
three of the principal characters of the game are introduced. Cloud Strife, the gam
e’s
leading protagonist, Barret Wallace, AVALANCHE’s outspoken leader, and Tifa Lockheart, a small
time bartender and childhood friend of Cloud’s. After one of Avalanche’s missions goes awry,
Cloud is separated from the group and meets Aeris Gainsborough, another principal character
of the story. Though she is seemingly an innocent young woman, Cloud soon discovers that Shinra
has taken a particular interest in her, and by her request, agrees to protect her from
the agents who are seeking her ou
t. From there the story becomes rather complex,
and I could spend hours explaining all of its intricacies, but I think it will suffice
to say that I’ve always found Final Fantasy VII’s story to be extremely compelling,
though there are many who would disagree, arguing that it’s muddy, and overly dramatic.
Something I find intriguing, however, is how Final Fantasy VII’s story draws from a multiplicity
of Hironobu Sakaguchi’s real world inspirations. What many people don’t know, is that during
the
time that he began developing the concepts for Final Fantasy VII, he was faced with the
death of his mother. As he dealt with the grief of that loss, he admits that Final Fantasy
VII became his primary outlet to express his newfound ideas about life and death, and how
each individual life contributes to the delicate balance of a larger ecosystem. He borrowed
several concepts from a wide variety of cultural beliefs, with a number of references to the
mythology of the Kabbalah. There is admittedl
y a lot of mature material that the game explores,
which is something that Square had not been allowed to do in previous installments because
of Nintendo's strict censorship policies. I think Barret Wallace and all that he stands
for throughout the game is an excellent example of what I’m talking about. A significant
portion of the game is dedicated to telling his backstory, wherein the player is shown
why he has come to hate Shinra as much as he does. We learn that his quest for revenge
on the
company lies at the heart of his motivation, though he tries so hard to mask it underneath
the noble cause of ‘saving the planet’. This hatred of Shinra leads him to do some
deplorable things, even at the expense of innocent lives. Watching this character go from a hateful, bitter, and vicious extremist
- who quickly justifies his actions with little remorse - to an introspective, sorrowful,
and penitent man who simply wants a good life for his daughter, is just a taste of the depth
of character
that this game displays… and it does so on a scale that far exceeds the games
that came before it. Now, admittedly this is done at the expense of some pretty jarring
pacing issues, but for me it was forgivable because of how fascinating the background
information is. However, I can see how many people who criticize the game would be justified
in saying that the main plot comes to a screeching halt after the Nibelheim Incident is explained
in Kalm. In my opinion, however, the story is successful
in that it starts off with the protagonists matched up against the impenetrable Shinra,
and then twists and turns its way into unexpected directions - containing what is for me one
of the most fascinating Hero/Villain dynamics that I’ve ever seen in a game. The Nibelheim
Incident stands out to me as one of the most effective scenes in modern media, and gives
me chills everytime I replay the game. While there may be some might take issue with a few of the cast
members, the characters are pretty
universally likable and relatable, and there are some
genuinely shocking and saddening moments throughout. Even with its labyrinthine nature, I haven’t
found in my multiple playthroughs that the story is too difficult to grasp, especially
if you take the time to see all the optional cutscenes, but there’s always a concern
with non-linear narratives like this that some of the audience will be lost along the
way. At the end of the day, I find Final Fantasy VII to be one of the most engaging narrat
ives
ever told in the video game world despite its imperfections, which are not nearly as
grandiose as many would lead you to believe. When it comes to game mechanics, Final Fantasy
VII is in many ways a big step forward, though it also takes a few steps back. For the most
part the battle mechanics were left untouched from previous entries, but the developers
took a lot of ideas first implemented in Final Fantasy VI and made profound improvements.
For example, the battle arena in the Gold Saucer
is a MAJOR improvement over the coliseum
in Final Fantasy VI, allowing the player to stay in control over the character’s actions
while still making every step foward feel like a gamble. Another major improvement comes
in the form of the limit break system, similar to 6’s desperation attacks, but with a much
more pivotal implementation in battles. Final Fantasy VII, in my opinion, took the idea
and made the proper refinements to make it an engaging addition to the battle system
- allowing you t
o save these powerful attacks from one battle to the next, as well as unlock
more powerful limit breaks throughout the game. However, a lot of the traditional Final
Fantasy mechanics have been simplified, and dare I say DUMBED DOWN from previous installments.
In this game you can only equip one weapon, one piece of armor, and one accessory per
character - which I find to be both disappointing and also kinda nice at the same time. It takes
away from the strategy that Final Fantasy VI had in its e
quipment setups, but
I kinda like not having to constantly swap equipment for different bonuses. In this game
the only real choice you have when it comes weapons and armor is whether or not you want
to have double or triple materia growth. Otherwise, if a weapon or piece of armor has a higher
attack or defense bonus, it’s generally the one you’re going to want to go with.
There’s just not much else to it unfortunately. It’s also somewhat disappointing that you can only
have a party of three, and
for 90% of the game Cloud is a mandatory character. This
leaves only two slots open for the player to fill, which I think is a major step backwards
from what VI was able to accomplish with so many great characters. I suppose it would
have been alright if they had designed dungeons where the player could switch between two
parties of three characters, similarly to what they did with multiple party dungeons
in VI, but unfortunately that mechanic is nowhere to be found this time around, even when
the
final dungeon is set up PERFECTLY to do so. However, even with all of these examples of
over-simplicity, Final Fantasy VII does incorporate an amazing, fresh system that makes up for
its shortcomings. The materia system is what I would describe as a big step up from the magicite
of Final Fantasy VI. Materia - which is refined, crystallized Mako energy - provides the player
with just about every ability in the game aside from the standard physical attack. It
differs from magicite in that the
characters themselves aren’t the ones who learn these
abilities over time, rather the materia contains the abilities, which can be unlocked and freely
swapped between whomever the materia is equipped on. The materia system is really where all
of the customization and strategy of Final Fantasy VII’s battle system comes into play, and
in my opinion it doesn’t disappoint. The one problem I can see with it is that it can
take away the satisfaction of having to build up a party of characters with uni
que sets
of aptitudes. Many of the traditional Final Fantasy games forced the player to build a
party in which each character’s strengths complimented another character’s weaknesses
and vice versa. Final Fantasy VI did away with that to some extent, but Final Fantasy
VII really threw it out the window, making it almost meaningless which characters you
bring into the fight as long as you have enough weapon slots for the materia you want to use.
While many people will miss the traditional approach
, I’m actually rather indifferent on the topic.
Whether or not the strategy comes from selecting a certain character for his or her abilities,
or from selecting a certain set of materia it makes no difference to me as long as there
is strategy involved - and I definitely feel like Final Fantasy VII has an adequate level
of strategy in its battle system. Another area in which I feel Final Fantasy
VII succeeds is in its side content. Though a lot of the sidequests feel rather long winded
- four ho
urs of chocobo breeding is just a little too long for my taste - for the most
part the side content is engaging and yields some awesome rewards like rare materia and
powerful weapons. The side quests that give background to individual characters are all
really great as well. However, where the side content suffers is in its mini games. I remember
struggling with the controls even back when the game was first released. The controls
on every mini game in Final Fantasy VII are clumsy and unresponsi
ve, which can really
make for some frustrating moments. Graphically, Final Fantasy VII is a little
bit of a mixed bag. It makes a bold but also somewhat awkward transition into the realm
of 3D. There’s no doubt that the use of Full Motion Video, which often fluently transitions
right into the gameplay, was massively impressive back in 1997. The pre-rendered backgrounds,
the character models in battle, along with the amazing animation and use of dynamic camera
moves to highlight certain battle ef
fects were all beautifully implemented and are certainly
deserving of praise… but there is also an obvious, startling contrast with the blocky,
unproportionate models outside of battle. The pre-rendered backgrounds look really nice,
and add a powerful but subtle level of atmosphere to each area, but they’re also really difficult
to navigate. It’s hard to describe how the controls work unless you’ve played the game
before, but it feels like the directional pad is constantly being switched around
on you.
The controls are consistently a problem, which made exploring new areas
far more frustrating than it needed to be. The musical score for this game, however, is just outstanding. In reflection of the game’s story, the music takes on a rather serious tone, and it really
grabbed me from the opening moments of the game. The score is massive, spanning 85 tracks
on four discs with a combined duration of over four and half hours. Although the soundtrack
as a whole is primarily orchestral, it do
es cover a wide variety of musical genres including
rock, techno, and choral. The main theme of the game, as well as Aeris’ theme, are two
of the most moving pieces in the series for me - capturing perfectly the duality of hopeful
perseverance and sorrowful regret that this game encapsulates so well. The music of Final
Fantasy VII is a perfect fit for the story and characters, and I would say that this
soundtrack sits EASILY among the top three in the series overall. Final Fantasy VII is an amaz
ing game. It took
bold steps forward into unexplored territory, a risky business for any popular video game
franchise, and while it isn’t perfect, it is without question one of the most inspired
pieces of art I’ve ever had the pleasure of experiencing. While I can understand how
many fans were disappointed with the major changes made to classic mechanics and formulas
of the past, I myself being a pretty big fan of traditional fantasy and old school RPGs,
I have to say that in my opinion this was
the best game the series had seen yet
because of the power and the passion that fueled its development. I can feel it every
time I play it. There’s just something very special about this game that never loses its
appeal and wonder for me. The story is remarkably well told and unpredictable, the characters
are layered and interesting, the setting is fresh and unique, the world is huge, and the
gameplay mechanics are great. It’s just an amazing overall effort on the part of Square
to pull such a
massive team together and create something that feels so tight and fluent.
I give Final Fantasy VII 4 ½ uselessly large and cumbersome, yet somehow still freaking
awesome buster swords, out of five.
Comments
My wife and I had a big wedding in a big church and I knew that I wanted the music to reflect the grandeur of the occasion, so I selected several pieces from the FF catalog, in this case it was Aeris Theme while guests were being seated. During the reception, a guest shook my hand and complimented me on my moving musical choices. Thanks, Uematsu!
I swear, this game, just hearing the music from it makes me want to replay it, easily my favorite game of all time.
I tear up a little every time I hear Aeris's theme. Though nothing gets me like the truth of the Nibleheim incident. Cloud became a real hero to me, a 10 year old kid, that day. I don't want to spoil anything for someone who is thinking about giving the game a try, but it was the first time I realized that a video game could be art. I recommend anyone giving 99:99+ hours to that game, any day.
This is the "FF7" of FF7 reviews.
"Hey Cloud, attack the scorp robot while its tail's up!" attacks robot "And it'll counter-attack LOL." But THIS time, with voice acting! REMAKE HYPE!!
Playing ff7 with my best friend is still among my most cherished memories of my childhood. We played this game for months and many play throughs while having many conversations about every aspect of the game. Your review was amazing and reminded me how special this game is to me. Thank you man
With all the embarrassingly awful amateur reviewers on youtube its nice to see a decent content creator with real journalistic flair who puts actual effort into his work. Thank you for this series, I enjoy it very much.
Best story by far. So relevant. Other FFs can get so abstract just at the basics and lose connection. 7 was such a great mystery always setting up a new mystery before finishing the first. So intense with meaning behind every action. Not just fulfilling tasks.
Man this is one of the most well written reviews I've had the pleasure of viewing and listnening to.
WOOOOW, you have some serious scripting talent man. You have yourself another happy subscriber!
Man, I am speechless. I never watched such a talented video like yours. You now have a loyal subscriber. .I will watch every single video of your channel. I really enjoyed. Congratulations
That fcking soundtrack!! I've never felt more pumped during intense set-pieces. Also, this was a great review man. It really was. I appreciate the professionalism and the pacing of your script. Excellent job, I subbed, even though I may not be interested in all of your content, I definitely want to support your channel.
The fact that they made this game at all with the limitations of the time, is astonishing. I'm overwhelmed with a feeling of awe when I consider the SCALE of this project at the time, and the fact that it turned out so beautiful and miraculously complete. The passion of human beings to create something so compelling from scratch, and utterly shatter the expectations of the audience at the time stands as a testament to our incredible potential when we work together.
6 Years later and I still come back to these FF reviews regularly. Your voice, the nostalgic music and reliving such special memories from my teens makes me feel so comforted and safe from the anxieties of adult life, in a way these games comforted me from the anxiety of growing up. Thank you for creating this content. I'm so looking forward to seeing the updated videos when they are finally released. ✌️
This Review much like this game is a masterpiece. This has to be the most well thought out intelligent review I've seen of well just about anything. amazing video. +Dark Pixel Gaming
definitely one hell of a review man. lots of care and effort woven into the vocabular tapestry of its narriation. hell, after the first 4 minutes i was thinking "this is a review of a true fan of the series" great job man. cant wait for others.
I really love your reviews. They're well put together, edited, narrated, and informative. I love the idea that these reviews are more of a kinda informational discussion about the game and why/how it was made. Getting backstory of the creators and their mindset helps reinforce their ideas and, whether or not the game is good or bad, really brings the game to life in a new way. Thanks for all your hard work and looking forward to what else you review!
Your reviews of the Final Fantasy series are without a doubt the best I've seen so far on Youtube - the quality of your analysis and level of research is quite astounding. Excellent production values as well. Keep on rocking!
Damned, this game is the jewel on the crown, i loved it since i played it day one of its release and i still have tears shinig in the corner of my eyes when i hear 2 notes of Aeris theme (and even the entire score that is pure majesty). Thank you Squaresoft for those unspeakable moments you made me live trhoug this beautiful, though dramatic, journey. I can't wait for the remake even though it scares me (what if it isn't as epic as the original ? but we will see, i try not to make my mind on things in order not to be disappointed if they don't happen, i'll take it for what it is and not as i would have liked it to be, otherwise it's the best way to be disappointed). Great video and review, it brings back so much memories; Thank you.
Man, just got the platinum trophy on the ps4 and i have to say that i was missing out, this game is a gem. You truly feel like you are playing a piece of gaming history and that just makes you enjoy it more. Also, this is one of the best review i've ever seen on youtube, not even kidding. You have earned yourself a subscriber.