Summary
There aresixteen main entries in theFinal Fantasyseries, which started all the way back in 1987 on the NES in Japan. Sixteen games is impressive for any series, but that’s not even taking into account thesequels that some of theseFinal Fantasygameshave, along with countless spinoffs. Among them all, one entry stands out:Final Fantasy 7.
It received a movie, novels, several spinoffs, remakes, and the list goes on. It is a fan favorite, but what exactly made it so groundbreaking on the PS1 in 1997? Does an almost three-decade-old game still hold weight today compared to the other entries? Let’s examineFinal Fantasy 7’smany strengths when compare to the rest of this stories franchise.
8Cloud Strife
The Unreliable Narrator
The hero,Cloud, is not the firstFinal Fantasycharacter to have amnesia. He is, however, the first one to outright lie to his allies and to the players. He has amnesia from his time as a SOLDIER within Shinra, but the memories he does recall are stated as fact.
The big revelation comes toward the end when Cloud accidentally takes on another character’s identity, Zack, who was the real SOLDIER while Cloud was just a lowly guard. It’s an incredible twist that no game has replicated since.
7Sephiroth
The Man, The Myth, The Legend
Sephirothis the main antagonist ofFinal Fantasy 7, who does not appear until much later in the game outside of a cryptic flashback. He’s touted as a legendary warrior who eventually betrayed Cloud and Shinra, but no one knows why.
The first time Sephiroth physically confronts the group is a scary moment, as he also unleashes the first form of Jenova, his alien mother. It is confusing, but the myth surrounding Sephiroth helps establish him as a truly horrific villain, akin to Jason in theFriday the 13thmovies.
6Shinra
Corporations Are Going To Destroy The Planet
Sephiroth isn’t the only villain inFinal Fantasy 7; theaforementionedShinra Corporationis greedy beyond belief. They are portrayed as an electronics company that aims to help people, but they secretly desire power, regardless of the harm it causes to the planet.
Much of the game is centered on Shinra and AVALANCHE, the group that Cloud joins in trying to go after Sephiroth on opposing sides. They may not be as scary as Sephiroth, but Shinra is certainly made up of a colorful cast of characters that go outside the norm of typical fantasy villains from warring kingdoms.
5A Modern And Mature Setting
Catching Up With 1997
There were steampunk influences beforeFinal Fantasy 7and after, but nothing has felt quite as modern as the beginning of the game inMidgar. Characters dressed in suits went to work at corporations, and then came home. It’s a theme that was better explored in the sequels and theremake project ofFinal Fantasy 7, but it all started on the PS1.
It was a more mature title that explored love and death in interesting, heartfelt, and even scary ways. The blood-soaked floors of Shinra, toward the end of that first chapter, for example, were eye-opening and surprisingly poignant in 1997.
4The Materia System
All Characters Are On An Even Playing Field
Story and characters are great in an RPG, but fans also enjoy actually playing these games. One of the key mechanics worth praising inFinal Fantasy 7is theMateria system. Materia came in five distinct flavors, all of which added magic, skills, or boosted stats on equipped characters.
Some Materia could even be combined to have different effects. For example, pairing All with most magical Materia, like Ice or Fire, would cause the spells to hit all enemies instead of just one. The Materia system added a lot of experimentation to the combat, and there hasn’t been a betterFinal Fantasymagic system since.
3Limit Breaks
Finally, A Set Mechanic
Final Fantasy 6was technically the first game in theFinal Fantasyseries to introduceLimit Breaksvia Desperation Attacks, which were randomized, and most players didn’t even know the feature was present. That all changed with the literally named Limit Breaks inFinal Fantasy 7.
Each party member could build up their meter, and when it was maxed out, players had a choice of activating that character’s special attack. Aerith had a lot of healing techniques while Cloud sliced up enemies with his sword skills. Other entries in the series have tried since to capture this same satisfying feeling, but none of them have cracked the code, although Trances inFinal Fantasy 9do deserve recognition as a very close second.
2THAT Moment
A Tear Was Shed That Day, My Friends
Most video game fans know about this even if they haven’t playedFinal Fantasy 7, but one of the party members dies halfway through the adventure. Aerith was not the first party member to die in the series, but her death had so much more weight behind it than anyone else’s.
Final Fantasy’sstorytelling really leveled up with this seventh entry, sending players crying as Aerith got stabbed from above by Sephiroth. This scene also added more sinister energy to the villain and raised the stakes for both players and the game’s characters as they found renewed will to track down and defeat him.
1The Music Is Untouchable
Veni, Veni, Venias, Gloriosa
Final Fantasyhas some of the best music in the RPG genre, butFinal Fantasy 7stands out as a trendsetter. The main theme, the song of The Turks, and the numerous battle themes all resonate and still sound spectacular.
The one song everyone knows, even if they haven’t played the game, is “One-Winged Angel," which plays during the final boss fight with Sephiroth. Hearing Latin chants come out of the PS1 made the fight that much more epic and memorable, even beyond Sephiroth turning into a squid.
