gaming Is Final Fantasy VII a Masterpiece?

[PonyFunk 155]

I hear so many awesome things about this classic. I never grew up with FF, so tell me which FF games were/are your favorites?

[1111 1,284]

3 7 are the only old ones i played but 7 is a ps1 clasic worth playing but its a simple rpg theses days cant say it stacks today except for story wich is good

[A Black Circle 1,586]

FF7: masterpiece

FF6: the definitive jrpg

[Art Thief 215]

Final Fantasy 7? Masterpiece? Hell no! Fun as hell game that I've played through like 5 times? Hell yes! While your at it check out Final Fantasy 6. 

Final Fantasy 15 looks promising as well..

Edited October 3, 2014 by Art Thief

[Bright Bastion 241]

Myself, I enjoyed FF6 more so than 7 (even though the later/lesser half of 6 I find really annoying) Don't play 8 unless you really like a wierd way to advance your stats (even up to a point where you basically become unkillable) 5 was very light-hearted and I liked it for that, I've watch LPs (let's Plays) of 4 and 9 and I really liked them both (9 being the better I thought). But I got into a wierd obsession a couple of months ago where I modded FF 1 (for the GBA) with a mod that included more classes and I played through it like 6 times. If you want to know a little about that, then I can tell you more, for me it was more for running my own OCs through the game (with more fitting classes). I used to hate JRPGs that let you make your own party (as they would have no personality) but as I got older I started appreciating them a little more.

[Discordian 6,015]

FFIX is a million times better than FFVII ever was but not even counting FF games there's much better RPGs to play and consider masterpieces. FFVII is popular, partially because it was many people's first major RPG, but that doesn't mean it's quality. Midgar is the best part of the game and that section ends less than two hours into it.

 

Now if you want an RPG worthy of the title "masterpiece" you should look to the Shin Megami Tensei series or Nier. At least one game in the SMT series should tickle your fancy whether it's Persona, Digital Devil Saga or Nocturne. Nier is just an overall very well-made game that's very self-contained in length and gameplay (preventing the game from dragging out) but is quite adventurous with the music and story.

Final Fantasy 7? Masterpiece? Hell no! Fun as hell game that I've played through like 5 times? Hell yes! While your at it check out Final Fantasy 6. 

Final Fantasy 15 looks promising as well..

FFXV legit looks like it could be the best FF to date. The thing I love about the FF series is that it's always trying new things. As someone who likes things to be different, even drastically so, the series does a good job of satiating my hunger for new ideas, main and side games alike.

[DaReaper 1,945]

Here comes the hate because so many people hold it so high and you know what my opinion is it should be. Not only is the story a great one that sucks you in the characters are unforgettable and the battle and materia system in the game are great. The music in the game is too notch as well

If this isn't enough just a search for "ffvii awards" and see all the mutiple awards the game has Recieved, including many Game of the Year awards and usualy ranked high in "top 100" lists

[Megas 27,744]

FFVII was considered a hallmark in the FF series and changed the way people looked at JRPGs at the time. But nowadays it's really shown it's age and I don't think people who've haven't played the game in the past probably won't think very much of it(which might be why people have been begging for a remake of the game)

 

As for the other games;

FF1-6 and 9 are pretty much you're standard FF games, with 4, 6 and 9 in particular being fan favorites(though I think V is a little underrated)

FF2 is probably one of the more unpopular games in the series

FF 8 is a sort of a "love it or hate it" game(though I think it's underappreciated), though I'd say try it for yourself(personally I loved it)

FFX and FFXII are pretty devisive too, though not to the same degree as 8 and especially XIII

FFXIII is probably the most controversial game in the series, again I'd say try it for yourself to form an opinion(some don't think it's as bad as others make it out to believe)

FFXI and FFXIV are MMOs, take that as you like

 

I also highly recommend the Final Fantasy Tactics games, especially the PS1 game(which is my favorite in the enitre series)

[Discordian 6,015]

Here comes the hate because so many people hold it so high and you know what my opinion is it should be. Not only is the story a great one that sucks you in the characters are unforgettable and the battle and materia system in the game are great. The music in the game is too notch as well

If this isn't enough just a search for "ffvii awards" and see all the mutiple awards the game has Recieved, including many Game of the Year awards and usualy ranked high in "top 100" lists

It's not hate to prefer other games and like what they did more.

 

I also kinda feel like it's unfair to completely disregard any negative opinions about the game and swipe it under the "because it's popular" rug. You assume that everyone who plays it and dislikes it doesn't have good reasons for doing so. Hate is as legitimate of an opinion as love.

 

The thing about the materia system is that it's not actually special in any way and it's strange that people treat it like it's anything more than standard fare for RPGs as a whole.

 

The story has a few interesting key points but outside of that it doesn't explain itself very well. It would be fine if they left a few mysteries in the game without explicitly explaining them but the problem is that they leave a bunch of mysteries and then never ever explain them or give any hints that make it possible to infer anything. Some things have been explained after the fact in future side games and developer commentary but that doesn't speak well of the game itself so much as the idea of the game.

 

The game itself is also pretty unbalanced. This isn't unique to FFVII as a lot of RPGs have this problem but when you can regular attack your way through the game and have little trouble the game has no balance and most of the spells and abilities you get have no reason to exist.

[Lightwing 12,978]

Final Fantasy VII is a great game.Its soundtrack is unforgettable,the FMVs are incredible,and its battle system was easy to learn to use,yet hard to domain,but it's still far away of becoming a masterpiece.

 

FF VII was and still is a great game,but I would recomend over it the sixth and the ninth installment ,because,on my point of view,they're the best installments of the series and they have the pure spirit of Final Fantasy.

 

The game itself is also pretty unbalanced. 

Final Fantasy always had lots of useless skills or skills that you'll never use,specially on the magic field.

[Discordian 6,015]

Final Fantasy always had lots of useless skills or skills that you'll never use,specially on the magic field.

Of course. That's why I mentioned that it's not unique to FFVII. A lot of games, not just FF, have this problem.

[Jeric 46,854]

FF7: masterpiece

FF6: the definitive jrpg

 

Add Chrono Trigger into that mix and you have the three greatest RPG's ever made. The Holy Trinity. 

 

Hells yeah it was a masterpiece. 

[Adachi 772]

Suikoden II beats all those games easily. That said though, I loved FFVI, as well as FFIX. Opinion is neutral on most of the rest, although without I we wouldn't have Final Fantasy, and IV brought us spoony bard xD

[Twilight Dirac 721]

FFIX is a million times better than FFVII ever was but not even counting FF games there's much better RPGs to play and consider masterpieces. FFVII is popular, partially because it was many people's first major RPG, but that doesn't mean it's quality. Midgar is the best part of the game and that section ends less than two hours into it.

 

See I actually loathe FF9 and I actually lost interest in the series as a whole because of it.  The story starts strong but takes a nosedive once you leave the Mist Continent, the main villain is terribly written, the character art is hideous, the character customization found in 6 and 7 was gutted (I never played 8) and the battles while strikingly similar to most in the series simply weren't as enjoyable as I found in the previous installations.  It was a huge step down in the quality I was used to and I haven't played any FF games since 9.

 

I agree with many of the posters here that FF6 was the absolute pinnacle of the series, and is easily once of the best RPGs ever made.  I put it on the same level as the Baldur's Gate series and the Ultima series.  It is certainly the best JRPG and the best console RPG I have ever played.  What it did with the limitations it was given was downright amazing.  I sunk many, many hours into this game.

 

FF7 would be the second best FF game I ever played.  Not as good as 6 but downright solid, with a good story, an interesting settings, a lot of good character customization options and enjoyable combat.  Not the best, but absolutely nothing wrong with it and definitely and enjoyable experience.

Edited October 4, 2014 by Twilight Dirac

[Kyoshi Frost Wolf 41,693]

The opinion of 'masterpiece' is entirely subjective really but honestly, I could consider FF 7-9 masterpieces. Since the question is 7, yes, I say that it is. It had such wonderful storytelling at the time and it was filled to the brim with content and the graphics, while blocky and primitive now, were outstanding for their time, especially the cutscenes. The music was also fantastic. The game is still very enjoyable to this day in nearly every aspect if one doesn't just dismiss it because of the graphics. I would say that is a masterpiece but that is just my opinion.

 

One thing that many seem to do is lessen the value of FF7 because of 6. The thing is, they are both masterpieces in their own way. That is a thing that makes this series special, or at least what made it special, each game was its own experience. Both of those games tell interesting and deep stories in a huge world to explore, with fun battling and customization to boot. I do not think it is fair to lessen one or the other.

 

The Materia system is one of my favorite customization aspects in the series so FF7 might be my favorite of the PS1 FF games.

[Nerdy Luigi 2,065]

My favorite was FF4.

 

FF7 was meh to me.

[Zekromic 1,054]

I've never played any FF until recently, but I enjoyned the first FF evah for PSP, those high definition sprites makes that old game look gorgeous. I also played FFV, FFII (I haven't finished it yet), FF Tactics (not finished yet either). I dunno why, but I don't feel like playing FFVII, but I played Crisis Core. Bravely Default is basically, a classic FF with another name, sweet game BTW, I'm currently playing it. Dissidia is a blast too. I purchased FFIX on PSN, haven't started it yet

[LightningMana 146]

I was introduced into the series through X/X-2 so they're my all-time favorite and no others compare to my enthusiasm for those ones~

 

Next I'd have to say 9 was my fav. Then Chrystal Chronicles for the Game Cube, I fell in love with. 

 

Then I played 7 and was like "what's up with all of these lego people? This is kind of lame". I love some of the music from it, the story was hard for me to follow but once Advent Children and some other extensions of 7 came out I began to understand it better.

 

The newer ones are fine, but I don't have the same sentimental attachment to them as I do with X/X-2, CC and 9~

[Jaref 344]

I don't know if I'd call any game a Masterpiece, it's a big word, but I think FFVII is excellent, one of my favorite games of all time. The characters, the music, the story, even the graphics (2D rendered backgrounds will always hold up), I love everything about it. Replaying it to this day is still a joy. I will put IX and VI slightly above it on my favorite FF list, but FFVII will always have that special place in my heart since it was my first true RPG experience ^^

 

FFX is another one of my favorites, that game is gorgeous! FFVIII is a strange one. but I liked it, it has one of the best soundtracks of the FF series, but the characters are pretty weak

Edited October 4, 2014 by Jaref