Devolpers: Square & Sony Interactive
Release Date: Jan 31th 1997
Status: Finished
Director: Yoshinori Kitase
Composer: Nobuo Uematsu

I am a hugee Final Fantasy fan. Been playing since I got the DS remake of 4 when I was like 7 for christmas. For a while FF4 was the only one I've played, the only other ff game I recall playing was FF tactics on the gba after a friend came over with it. Around 13 I was getting into a rpg binge. Played my first Megaten game, finally beat Disgea one, and got one of my first Ps1 games for 10 dollars at a thrift store. Final Fantasy 7 (greatest hits). I had gotten my first ps1(rip) around the same time so I lowkey hit the jackpot. That weekend I sat down infront of my Tv and played for 10 hours straight. Which wasn't the most uncommon for me at the time, neither is it now. I had to stop playing after being yelled at for staying up all night lol. While I have others in the series that I favor over it(FF8, FF10, & FF6), it's still an amazing game in my top 5 Final Fantasy's.

Gamplay: Ngl I'm not biggest fan of Final Fantasy's combat. It's an interesting spin on turn-based combat but y'know it's still turn-based. I like turn-based combat. In Final Fantasy 7, it's more that it's basic than bad. Final Fantasy 7 battle system is technically real time but not really. I mean you can go whenever your turn gauge is reached. It still works in turns though, so it's more sudo rt than anything. Materia is a highlight of the system. It's genuinely what saves combat for me. Some of the Materia are absolutely worthless but others can make battle a complete joke. It's fun to experiment with them throughout the game to find that op build. That experimentation lasts the entire game, which is a huggge plus.

Sound: Alright so the sound track is kinda meh. Not terrible but barely anything that perks up my ears. Just sounds like generic fantasy music, which I'm not the biggest fan of that type of music. The only tracks that pop out are Sephiroth's theme, Cosmo Canyon, Mako Reactor, and Shinra Tower. The rest aren't memorable or are an annoying listen. I can see how so many people praise the Ost but it's not to my taste.

Art: Well it's an earlier Ps1 game, don't expect anything mind breaking. For the time I'm sure it was insane. The jump from the amazing FF6 sprite work to the sexy blocky 32-bit polygons of the playstation. I feel like it would be better if they used the battle models or at least similar ones in the overworld instead of the chibi looking ones. Don't get me wrong, I love how stupid they look. But after seeing how FF8 does it I gotta say it would've been better. As I mentioned, I like the in-battle sprites. The character designs show through well in them, being pretty detailed when you look close. The models look sick going through the animation with all the effects happening. Sometimes it is a pain to sit through the long ass animations over and over again, the coolness kinda starts to wear off like that.

The in game menus and ui elements work as they should. It's clean, matches the game, and is easy to navigate. I like the portraits done for the characters a lot. They may be compressed to all hell but they still look soooo good. Love the watercolor look that Tetsuya Nomura went for with them. Vincent and Sephiroth's got to be my favorite.

Story: Honestly one of my favorite game stories ever. It's everything I could love about a story. Sci-fi, eco terrorism, weird twink with deja-vu. I love every character so much and the setting. It really pulls you in and immerses you into the world. The characters feel believable and real(mostly). An absolutely unforgettable story, much deserved of being one of the best video game stories ever.

Gameplay: 7.5/10
Music: 8.5/10
Art Direction: 10/10
Story: 9/10
Overall Score: 8/10
Final Notes: I love eco terrorism :)
Last Edited: 2/19/25