Obviously, personal taste in combat is going to destroy your enjoyment of many games. I actually like the broken builds you can make if you try hard enough in FF7 because of the extensive materia system. Most games in the FF series force your characters into certain roles that you often don't want them to be in so I tend to like FF7 better just so I don't get stuck with a white mage that has nothing to do outside of healing damaged party members or buffing. Personally, I've replayed Phantasy Star 4, Wild Arms II, Suikoden 1, Shining In The Darkness, Shining The Holy Ark (which is basically a much upgraded remake of Shining In the Darkness), Albert Odyssey 2 : Legend of Eldean, Dragon Force, Shining Force, Legend of Dragoon and Magic Knight Rayearth several times. I liked Parasite Eve, Chrono Trigger, Golden Sun (made by the same people as Shining The Holy Ark), Radiata Stories, and Dragon Quest 7. Most games I like in the action/combat oriented games. Streets of Rage, Dark Souls, Devil May Cry, Zone of the Enders 2, Sifu, Shadow of the Colossus and God of War.
I'm not sure how old you are, but the context of what else was available to play at the time is very important. And also what phase in life you're going through when you play the game is important context too. Playing as a 20 something in 2023/4 with decades of experience with video games with better technology and stories/mechanics that might have used FF7 as a stepping stone, is a very different experience than being an 11, 12, 13 year old; whose mind was blown; because up to that point they still played mostly games with the arcade quarter eating strategy. Where there was barely a story, you rarely made it past level 2 or 3, and the mechanics were basically just jump and use weapon.
Chiming in as the friend who played through it with him. I definitely want to make sure I at least comment that I do appreciate the quality of the game for the time it was in, but I think the overall thing that was surprising to me is that FF7 was the game lauded as the standard for JRPG's when I feel as though some other games of its time or before give it a run for its money. In terms of presentation I think FF7 might be the highest quality, especially with the action set pieces and mini games, but in terms of complete and overall narrative there are games that give it competition. Xenogears for example is an extremely complex and well written narrative, and there are certainly people who could make arguments to prefer the earlier FF6, or another title like Star Ocean. Similarly there are plenty of games released around this time that have either similarly simple, yet more engaging combat, or combat with a decent bit more depth. Both Mario RPG and Paper Mario had added elements to the combat that I think made some better moment to moment decision making within the gameplay. Going even simpler Xenogears deathblow system while not inherently being more complex than just spamming a singular attack or spell I found offered some form of variety by choosing combo paths, and each character having unique spell lists helped make characters feel unique both in and out of dialogue. While I do appreciate the customization offered by the materia system any combat requiring something more than basic attacks just devolves into spamming buff spells and the requisite weakness damage spell. Even if that game of rock paper scissors were interesting to me, I still can look at something like pokemon's iteration of RPS and find it more engaging and meaningful. While I can definitely see some of our opinions coming off as years of experience marring a simpler product from a simpler time, conversely I found my largest problem with the game not to be the game itself but its reputation. I went in hearing about this game being an unsurmountable pinnacle of RPG's that to this day is rarely touched even by modern writing and gameplay conventions. However, having played a lot of its contemporaries of the time I was shocked by how similar in quality it was. I love all of the games listed above, and FF7 is certainly not exempt, its strong narrative and impressive presentation still sold me on it, I just in retrospect question how it became so big when I found plenty of other RPG's to be of a similar high quality.
I'm a massive ff7 fan but I was 13 when it came out and there's nostalgia goggles there. I'm so happy ppl get to experience the remakes but the og is so close to my heart, but honestly 6 is probably better objectively. The gameplay can be deep but if your not into it I don't blame anyone for cheating for the story. I still play it every year, I think it's top 5 rpgs of all time for sure but everyones top 5 will be different because it's subjective.
FF7 got its reputation because it was marketed the hell out of in North America and JRPGs were really niche back then. It was the first JRPG for so many people. People think it invented the active time battle system, even though that debuted in Final Fantasy 4, released as Final Fantasy 2 on the Super Nintendo. I'm surprised you didn't mention Final Fantasy 6, released as Final Fantasy 3 on the Super Nintendo. A lot of fans regularly say that one is better than 7. I consider a lot of JRPGs better than Final Fantasy 7, even those that came before it. I like how structured and fast paced Final Fantasy 4 is and in the same respect, Super Mario RPG and Chrono Trigger. Squaresoft made the best JRPGs of the 90s and I say that as someone who played Earthbound, Lufia 1 and 2, Lunar 1 and 2, and Breath of Fire 1 and 2. The only other JRPG that was also as big as FF7 was Pokemon. Anyway as far as 90s JRPGs go, I consider Super Mario RPG, Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy 4 and 6 to be better than Final Fantasy 7. You should also try Final Fantasy 9, preferably on digital ports with quality of life features like fast forward.
Interesting point about the marketing for FFVII, I knew that was part of the hype but hadn't considered it as part of why VII has the reputation it does. FF6 has crossed my radar and is pretty high on my To Be Played list for JRPGs, but I only heard much about FF6 after I started getting into the series with FFVIIR. Until I started playing more RPGs the only big older JRPGs that I had heard much about are the ones I mentioned in the video. With how much I have gotten into the series so far with FFVIIR, FFVII, and FFXVI I intend to give all the games 4 and onward a chance cause I have liked what I have played so far of the series. The ones I have been most interested in based on what I have heard so far are X, VI, and XV, in that order.
You expected alot out of a 20 year old game. Idk what to tell you. Its kind of weird. Also keep in mind, the gameplay was simple to make sure that people new to games, and rpgs could get into it.
I will never agree with your criticisms of the gameplay. I love turn-based RPGs and FF7 has a lot of depth in its customisation that helps it excel in that respect. Having said that, it is far from the best RPG of all time. It isn't even in contention for the best turn-based RPG of all time. Its hype is carried strictly by nostalgia. It was the first game that ever made a lot of us cry. A game that inspired emotion is one that is remembered fondly for a hell of a lot longer than games that are just fun. Of all of the emotions, sadness is the one that sticks with you the longest, which helps FF7 capitalise on nostalgia even more than other emotional games.
8 is "Excellent" and 9 is "Really Good"? You're sure it's not vice versa? 🤔 In any case, as someone who grew up on Sega systems, I never had the chance of playing the original FFVII during its heyday until a few years back and felt the same as you did. Around the time of this game, I was into Panzer Dragoon Saga and have no regrets playing that over OG FFVII. It's just super rare to find nowadays.
I highly recommend trying out the mods I have listed in the video. I thought it made for a well modernized experience that seemed very true to the original
Obviously, personal taste in combat is going to destroy your enjoyment of many games. I actually like the broken builds you can make if you try hard enough in FF7 because of the extensive materia system. Most games in the FF series force your characters into certain roles that you often don't want them to be in so I tend to like FF7 better just so I don't get stuck with a white mage that has nothing to do outside of healing damaged party members or buffing.
Personally, I've replayed Phantasy Star 4, Wild Arms II, Suikoden 1, Shining In The Darkness, Shining The Holy Ark (which is basically a much upgraded remake of Shining In the Darkness), Albert Odyssey 2 : Legend of Eldean, Dragon Force, Shining Force, Legend of Dragoon and Magic Knight Rayearth several times.
I liked Parasite Eve, Chrono Trigger, Golden Sun (made by the same people as Shining The Holy Ark), Radiata Stories, and Dragon Quest 7.
Most games I like in the action/combat oriented games. Streets of Rage, Dark Souls, Devil May Cry, Zone of the Enders 2, Sifu, Shadow of the Colossus and God of War.
I'm not sure how old you are, but the context of what else was available to play at the time is very important. And also what phase in life you're going through when you play the game is important context too. Playing as a 20 something in 2023/4 with decades of experience with video games with better technology and stories/mechanics that might have used FF7 as a stepping stone, is a very different experience than being an 11, 12, 13 year old; whose mind was blown; because up to that point they still played mostly games with the arcade quarter eating strategy. Where there was barely a story, you rarely made it past level 2 or 3, and the mechanics were basically just jump and use weapon.
Chiming in as the friend who played through it with him. I definitely want to make sure I at least comment that I do appreciate the quality of the game for the time it was in, but I think the overall thing that was surprising to me is that FF7 was the game lauded as the standard for JRPG's when I feel as though some other games of its time or before give it a run for its money. In terms of presentation I think FF7 might be the highest quality, especially with the action set pieces and mini games, but in terms of complete and overall narrative there are games that give it competition. Xenogears for example is an extremely complex and well written narrative, and there are certainly people who could make arguments to prefer the earlier FF6, or another title like Star Ocean.
Similarly there are plenty of games released around this time that have either similarly simple, yet more engaging combat, or combat with a decent bit more depth. Both Mario RPG and Paper Mario had added elements to the combat that I think made some better moment to moment decision making within the gameplay. Going even simpler Xenogears deathblow system while not inherently being more complex than just spamming a singular attack or spell I found offered some form of variety by choosing combo paths, and each character having unique spell lists helped make characters feel unique both in and out of dialogue. While I do appreciate the customization offered by the materia system any combat requiring something more than basic attacks just devolves into spamming buff spells and the requisite weakness damage spell. Even if that game of rock paper scissors were interesting to me, I still can look at something like pokemon's iteration of RPS and find it more engaging and meaningful.
While I can definitely see some of our opinions coming off as years of experience marring a simpler product from a simpler time, conversely I found my largest problem with the game not to be the game itself but its reputation. I went in hearing about this game being an unsurmountable pinnacle of RPG's that to this day is rarely touched even by modern writing and gameplay conventions. However, having played a lot of its contemporaries of the time I was shocked by how similar in quality it was. I love all of the games listed above, and FF7 is certainly not exempt, its strong narrative and impressive presentation still sold me on it, I just in retrospect question how it became so big when I found plenty of other RPG's to be of a similar high quality.
I'm a massive ff7 fan but I was 13 when it came out and there's nostalgia goggles there. I'm so happy ppl get to experience the remakes but the og is so close to my heart, but honestly 6 is probably better objectively. The gameplay can be deep but if your not into it I don't blame anyone for cheating for the story. I still play it every year, I think it's top 5 rpgs of all time for sure but everyones top 5 will be different because it's subjective.
FF7 got its reputation because it was marketed the hell out of in North America and JRPGs were really niche back then. It was the first JRPG for so many people. People think it invented the active time battle system, even though that debuted in Final Fantasy 4, released as Final Fantasy 2 on the Super Nintendo. I'm surprised you didn't mention Final Fantasy 6, released as Final Fantasy 3 on the Super Nintendo. A lot of fans regularly say that one is better than 7. I consider a lot of JRPGs better than Final Fantasy 7, even those that came before it. I like how structured and fast paced Final Fantasy 4 is and in the same respect, Super Mario RPG and Chrono Trigger. Squaresoft made the best JRPGs of the 90s and I say that as someone who played Earthbound, Lufia 1 and 2, Lunar 1 and 2, and Breath of Fire 1 and 2. The only other JRPG that was also as big as FF7 was Pokemon. Anyway as far as 90s JRPGs go, I consider Super Mario RPG, Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy 4 and 6 to be better than Final Fantasy 7. You should also try Final Fantasy 9, preferably on digital ports with quality of life features like fast forward.
Interesting point about the marketing for FFVII, I knew that was part of the hype but hadn't considered it as part of why VII has the reputation it does. FF6 has crossed my radar and is pretty high on my To Be Played list for JRPGs, but I only heard much about FF6 after I started getting into the series with FFVIIR. Until I started playing more RPGs the only big older JRPGs that I had heard much about are the ones I mentioned in the video. With how much I have gotten into the series so far with FFVIIR, FFVII, and FFXVI I intend to give all the games 4 and onward a chance cause I have liked what I have played so far of the series. The ones I have been most interested in based on what I have heard so far are X, VI, and XV, in that order.
You expected alot out of a 20 year old game. Idk what to tell you. Its kind of weird. Also keep in mind, the gameplay was simple to make sure that people new to games, and rpgs could get into it.
I will never agree with your criticisms of the gameplay. I love turn-based RPGs and FF7 has a lot of depth in its customisation that helps it excel in that respect.
Having said that, it is far from the best RPG of all time. It isn't even in contention for the best turn-based RPG of all time.
Its hype is carried strictly by nostalgia. It was the first game that ever made a lot of us cry. A game that inspired emotion is one that is remembered fondly for a hell of a lot longer than games that are just fun. Of all of the emotions, sadness is the one that sticks with you the longest, which helps FF7 capitalise on nostalgia even more than other emotional games.
8 is "Excellent" and 9 is "Really Good"? You're sure it's not vice versa? 🤔
In any case, as someone who grew up on Sega systems, I never had the chance of playing the original FFVII during its heyday until a few years back and felt the same as you did. Around the time of this game, I was into Panzer Dragoon Saga and have no regrets playing that over OG FFVII. It's just super rare to find nowadays.
i hate the new FF7, cuz i wanted amazing remaster not REMAKE, i love old ff7, also for me turn base mode is better
I highly recommend trying out the mods I have listed in the video. I thought it made for a well modernized experience that seemed very true to the original