FFVII: Overrated or not?

[Suikolove]

I'm sure this discussion has happened before elsewhere, but if FFE was ever in desperate need of suitable topics, it's right now... fifteen minutes after its launch.

So... the discussion. Do you think Final Fantasy VII is overrated? If so, why do you think so? If not... then we could still use an explanation. :]

Personally, I believe it is overrated, because I hear a lot of "FFVII is the best" but not a whole lot of explaining behind said statement. I have neither favour nor grudge towards the game, though... which means I don't really like it or dislike it, but after so long of hearing that a game "is the best" without a lot of why that game is the best kind of gets on your nerves after a while.

[Hayate]

Well, Now it's overrated I think but back when it had first launched it was a great title. It was something new with the 3D modles and the ability to move freely around. It was awesome. I personally thought that FFVIII was a better game but for being the 1st for the PS1 it was a nice title. It brought something new and different. So, yes it kinda deserves it's title as the best FF game.

[stitchphil]

I think that at its peak when it was first released on the PS1 console, it was a breakthrough as what Hayate pointed out. But I personally feel that in terms of CGI, it was actually FFVIII that made the big break. It was much smoother than FFVII, though I prefer the gameplay in FFVII.

Advert Children was a great arc that kind of revived the entire game in its entity, with spin-offs such as Dirge of Cerberus and Crisis Core in game play and The Last Order in animation. These spin offs are great for the fans and they are winning over new fans of the series.

It also triggered FFXIII to be released in 3(?) different parts. So to me, I think FFVII actually caused the entire FF series to be widely known. But I'll stop short of calling it the best of the series because I personally liked FFVIII more, just that all the spin-offs from VII made the whole series more interesting and complete.

[Hayate]

Well, as it WAS the first of it's kind they have to make it well known and more popular than the others. AS you said, FFVII caused the Final Fantasy series to be put on the map, so in return of it doing that they have to juice as much of it as they can. Such as The Advent Children Movie and then the talk of having FFVII remade for the PS3.

[Antikhrist]

How could you Mike, you put it in the wrong area. D: *Moved*

[Scrutator]

The apparent greatness that FFVII has was brought out mostly from the impact that the game had in the West when it was released due to use of FMV sequences for example, it should be considered an important cornerstone in gaming but when playing it today you do see that compared to other games within the series and the JRPG genre as a whole it is very basic. It's not a bad game in any serious way, just not the best game of all time.

[twighlight sora]

I think it's overrated because it's so old well not to old but anyway if they did a remake i bet it wouldn't be overrated with new graphics and stuff

[Garnet]

It is overrated today in my opinion.

At the time, it was an awesome new game, but now, especially to the newer and younger generation of gamers, I just don't think it is worth all of the hype given to it.

I've had many newbies to FF tell me that they were disappointed going in and playing VII after they heard it was just "the best game ever". Of course VII will always be a classic in FF history, but to a lot of people today it's just not worth that title now.

[Sin-Riel]

A lot of people say it is the best because it was the first FF they ever played, and in a lot of cases I've seen, [read that as a lot, not all] whichever FF someone plays first is their favourite.
I don't think it's overrated given the quality of the game. Given the cutscenes, each characters own uniqueness and how each of them add a strong part to the story. And then...lolcaitsith. <_<

[The Man]

It's way overrated. I've heard countless game magazines and readers' polls say that it's "the best game ever," which it's not. Any game that leaves players confused as to the basic events of its storyline (for example, even today a large number of gamers seem to be convinced that [spoiler]Sephiroth himself killed Aeris, when he was clearly stuck in the Northern Crater the entire time[/spoiler]) has some deep, embedded flaws, and while some of those may be due to a poor translation, the game is also guilty of some rather poor storytelling. Considering that one of the most important bits of plot in the game is only accessible through an optional sidequest, it's no wonder most gamers have misconceptions about the game's storyline; moreover, Cloud has so many contradictory "revelations" about his past that the impact of each of them is severely dulled by the time you get to the last of them.

I've always gotten the impression that FFVII wasn't entirely finished when they rushed it out the door. It wasn't the first Square game to suffer that fate - after all, whole segments of the map in Secret of Mana are completely inaccessible because the developers simply didn't have time to make the corresponding parts (although I think there were also limitations on the size of the cartridge). I seem to remember hearing the same about FFVII, but I've lost the reference if so. I suppose a remake could fix several of the game's most glaring flaws, but only if Square didn't treat every aspect of the game as sacred material worth leaving intact.

To tell the truth, I'm getting rather bored with the Final Fantasy series anyway. The depth of the gameplay is rather shallow when you compare it to games based off D&D, or any roguelike games for that matter (Nethack in particular has almost limitless depth). People obsessing over ZOMG SHINY GRAPHICS without paying any attention to the gameplay are missing out on a whole world of imagination.

[Hayate]

I guess that is true. My first played FF game was FFX and I compare every RPG game with it. I loved that game. FFVII was good or great as they say but, yeah it is over-rated.

It will not be long until something comes around and beats it out though. I have crazy feeling it's going to be FFXIII and its 3 series.

[Derek]

now FFVII wouldn't be overrated if they released it on the PS3. That would be awesome.

[The Man]

FFVII has a lot more flaws than just the graphics, and even if they fixed the storyline flaws I highly doubt it'd be "the best game ever," since, as I mentioned, the gameplay is still rather shallow.

[twighlight sora]

Originally Posted by Cloud, The First Tsrugi

now FFVII wouldn't be overrated if they released it on the PS3. That would be awesome.

yeah that's what i think too better graphics and etc but i'd rather it come out on ps2

[Hayate]

It would be better for it to come out on the PS3 than the PS2. Also, as Oblivious said it won't really be the greatest game ever. It might be...but I don't think so. So, if they come out with one then they will risk a big flop or a big success. Kinda like what they did with Spirits Within. What a horrible movie.

[robert]

ffvii may be the greatest game ever created. amazing story, great rememberable characters, stunning soundtrck, outstanding graphics (for that time period), and good gameplay. A+. now if only it would come out for the ps3........

[Scrutator]

If SE ever made a FFVII remake I would imagine it'll sell well just for having the FFVII name on the box, but I wouldn't think that it would work that well and make as big an impression as the original since you know what's coming up and so some scenes wouldn't have the same impact as back then. But the biggest problems with FFVII when looking at it today come more from the basic and shallow gameplay than anything else.

[darkeclipse21]

it is overrated because i personally thought 8 was a better game. now there is 12 and that has great graphics so it depends on when you look at it.

[Nrvnsq]

Overrated;

First off, in my opinion, it's not even that good of a game. It's good but not as good as it is portayed. A remake would just be over-whoring this game out even more. Such as, Last Order/Advent Children/etc... We don't need a remake on it, I mean... what's the point? To play it with better graphics and voices? Plus, S-E is already known for delaying thier games, that or over-hyping them way before it was released. Jst let FFVII be.

[twighlight sora]

8 was okay but 7 was better but overrated