Memorable Gaming Moments – Final Fantasy 7
Was it really 12 years ago? Now that FF7 is finally available on PSN, can millions of new gamers really enjoy this supreme masterpiece of gaming or is it best left alone, consigned quietly to the bargain bins of history?
FF7 may have sold millions of copies and cemented the success of the original Sony Playstation but it’s also said to be the most returned game in gaming’s short history. Thousands of western gamers fell for the “hype” and started playing it only to find themselves bewildered by what they were seeing on their TV screens : invisible enemies, endless un- itiated fights, extremely long and unskippable summon sequences and strange words (materia, chocobo etc). For the doubters, it was quickly taken back to the shop and never played again.
But the truth is that in any walk of life, change never comes without a fight . To achieve change in any medium means constantly challenging what is considered to be the norm and breaking down its barriers. And that’s the real secret of FF7’s success : that underneath the bonnet of this strange looking car lay the most fantastic gaming experience /engine ever created.
For me personally, the biggest success of the game was its story. So much time and effort went into creating these game characters that Square is still milking the franchise 12 years later : big hearted, bold and believable characters immersed in a huge gaming world full of great music, locations and fun mini games, gently nagging the gamer to continue playing despite it’s obvious faults.
Yet the arrival of this old classic is also a sad and timely reminder of another long gone era in gaming : a time when the people who made the most money in the industry were the people who made the best games, not the people who owned the best franchises and issued the most sequels. An age of innocence soon to be eroded by the impending arrival of the world wide access of the Internet and the lusty eyes of the marketing man!
Perhaps that’s what Aeris’s death really symbolises?
More reading :
http://www.edge-online.com/magazine/the-making-of-final-fantasy-vii
LOL i like wut u put about wut aeris death symbolizes. I personally think FF7 has the best plot ever made, sure it could have done the series without Yuffie in my opinion, but every other charcater I thourghly enjoyed. I was a young teenager when this game out and to this day I am now 21, and I cant find it boring every time I play it again every couples years. I never really got emotionally envolved in a game, I get so drawn into the plot I feel wut the characters are feeling. The game really draws u in, n I think square really made the best final fantasy game ever made. now final fantasy died after 8 or 10 from wut ive heared ppl say, and i couldnt agree more. times have changed as u say and not for the better. “god, I miss the good old days”
At the risk of causing a mass arguement…. I preferred FFX! *runs away*
FFVII was amazing and you’re probably right about the whole era thing. Why bother spending years and masses on a massively in-depth game when you can release fish-in-a-barrel hunting for the Wii in 3 days flat with 10x the profit?
It’s like film writing… rather than concentrating on quality writing and direction, just make sure Ben Stiller is in it and you’ll make money.
Aren’t I a pessimist?
Anthony, you are no pessimist, just a realist!
and please dont feel ashamed about preferring FFX ! Absolutely brilliant game : personally spent well over 300 hours on that one alone. I thought it was a little more non linear than 7 but thats probrably due to the disk space required for those great voiceovers.
And I also missed the great minigames from 7 and 8 : somehow playing blitzball wasn’t quite as fun…