Name: Final Fantasy 7

Genre: RPG

Developer: Squaresoft

Released: 1997

Platform: Playstation/PC

Score: Graphics: 4/10

Sounds: 9/10

Durability: 10/10

Playability: 10/10

Overall:9/10

Since this is my first review I thought I would start with a game which has a very special place in my collection - Final Fantasy 7. Hailed by final fantasy fans and ordinary gamers alike as one of the best RPG’s in existence, this game has quite a reputation, but does it live up to the acclaim it gets? Short answer: yes.

The game begins by introducing us to Cloud - an ex-SOLDIER mercenary who is helping a group of rebels by destroying a power plant. These plants convert the earths energies to power the giant city, but they are draining the earths resources and soon it will be destroyed. As with most rpgs, your choice of options at this stage is very limited - often you are limited to ‘attack’ or a single spell. However, remain patient as soon an armoury of skills is opened to you. Players are brought into the game gradually, and near the start there is an area with characters who explain basic item usage, saving your game, equipping items and other essential information.

Hmm not very good now. When it was first released this game was visually groundbreaking and I felt this deserves some merit (hence the score for graphics isn’t 2). Also the FMV’s are still nice looking, although nothing compared to recent attempts. For those of you who play games with nice graphics, you can give this a miss.

Best soundtrack ever. The songs in this game are the most atmospheric I have ever came across, particularly the highwind theme tune. There are no voices in this game, which I consider an advantage since voices take away from your own ideas of the character. No game comes close to Final Fantasy 7 in terms of music. The sound effects are not quite as wide-ranging as I would have liked to warrant a full 10/10...the same few ‘blade swipe, gun bullet’ sounds are used too often.

Gameplay

Fun. The interface is easy to use (and the menu colour scheme can be customised which serves no purpose other than to make something nice to look at). It is by no means an easy game (some of the later bosses will leave you very frustrated!) but a total beginner to RPG’s could pick this up and play it with no problems. As you advance in the game more materia (magic) becomes available, widening your range of tactics in battles.

This game has near unlimited replay value. There are a huge range of min-games in the golden saucer which you will invariably waste hours playing. There are also a few special bosses to defeat who are extremely hard regardless of how good you or your characters are. Finally each character has an ultimate weapon and a level 4 limit break to obtain which make playing through the game again worthwhile.

Although slightly outdated, this game is by no means bad. For those of you who have wondered why there are so many final fantasy freaks out there, this is it.