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« on: August 05, 2008, 10:42:55 am »
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Ooookay, here we go.
This was a fine game. Solid battle system, good soundtrack, memorable villain, all the things you want in an RPG. But Jesus Crackers people, let it go. It's not as good as you remember, and it never was as perfect as fanboys have let it become over the years. It's reached this untouchable, unassailable point where you're not even allowed to dislike it, let alone berate it. Well, we are. Right now.
The characters are poorly realized. Compare them to FFVI or even FFIV on the SNES and they're rote, uninteresting stereotypes that pale next to the likes of Cecil, Terra or Rydia. And Aerith, well, she's been immortalized as the biggest shock in all of RPG history somehow, even though most of the people we know barely batted an eye when she bit the dust. Our PC editor even offered this bit of constructive criticism sure to enrage the legions that had never played an RPG prior to FFVII:
"She seems passive, but she’s really passive aggressive and manipulative about her feelings for Cloud. She’s confused and doesn’t know what she wants, which is fine. But she’s too weak to do anything but smile stoically and take a beating like all perfectly tragic princesses should.
"Her death was not an example of how games can invoke a strong emotional response from the player. It’s an example of how a cutscene can trigger an emotional response, and that’s been happening since the introduction of dem dar movin’ pictures. She doesn’t deserve a literal beating. She deserves a symbolic burning in protest of what she stands for, the one dimensional Barbie Doll smiling face that will forever go on feigning optimism and happiness in the name of femininity."
The main thing to take away is that FFVII was the first RPG millions of people played, so it unfairly becomes the standard by which all others should be judged, even though it's impossible for another, better game to actually surpass it. It was a pretty good game with amazing, ahead-of-its-time presentation, enough to shroud the comparatively lame characters and style-over-substance gameplay that would define the franchise for years to come. And for all the dust it kicked up, FFVIII, released just two years later, looked phenomenally better, so even VII's unprecedented delivery was outdated in a matter of months. And if you want to talk strict gameplay, Materia is a poor man's Esper.
We like it fine, but it's nowhere near as good as people make it out to be and doesn't deserve the crushing amount of misty-eyed nostalgia it forcibly extracts - and that's as true today as it was in 1997. Seriously, im not aiming this at anyone here. Just to the legions of FFVII lovers out there. Yes, its a well built game, just not "The greatest thing since sliced bread" For a while ive been having this conversation with morons like this idiot that works at my local game store. I know someone close to me that admits its not the greatest game ever, but she makes her points valid in the statement that "I just enjoy it" If you just enjoy the game, thats perfectly natural because its your opinion, but when you state things like "Its amazing" You have just made your point invalid. I admit to not liking FFVII to this gamestore moron and he claims I have no idea what im talking about. Ive played nearly every Final Fantasy there is (in america at least) and personally I prefer FFT. Im going to say this once, and forgive me. All people that claim FFVII is the greatest game ever, are losers, and failures in the video game world. A nice little example of why most FFVII fans are morons; http://www.google.com/search?source=ig&hl=en&rlz=&=&q=FFVII+petition&btnG=Google+SearchTl;DR Version FFVII is gay.
« Last Edit: August 05, 2008, 10:47:08 am by Pedlya »
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So what! I wanna get out! 'Cos there's so much out there! So many different people, living different lives! Incredibly good guys, bad guys... Folks completely different from us! It's one huge melting pot! See, it's not about success, dying in the streets, who's better, who's not! I just want to be a part of it! I realized that even if I've no connections, no talent, even if I'm one big loser, I want to use my hands and feet to think and move, to shape my own life! We can just die here or we can try, see what we've got!
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