One of the most ground-breaking games ever created.
Sometimes all of the pieces just fall together and every facet works. In the seventh instalment of the epic fantasy series this is exactly what happened and what was created was one of the most powerful and important video games ever created. The best place to start is with the beginning and Final Fantasy VII is one of the most impressive openings there is. Starting with the blackness and moving onto a gently played score the whole scene sweeps out to a hugely impressive scene of Midgar before sweeping back onto the action. It is as an impressive a piece of story telling as there has been in video games, and the instant emotional impact is hugely important in setting up the structures of the game. The instant drop into story, before character exposition, before the tutorial and even before you’ve had the usual gentle curve into game-play creates an instant engagement, that is skilfully pulled off.
The thing is, when it comes down to looking back at the impact of the game, it’s hard to really pin-point why it has such a powerful effect and why the reverberations it sent through the industry are still being felt. It’s even harder to relate and explain the sheer emotive impact it has, which is maybe why it is so successful. The themes, the narrative, the unbelievable characters, the world, the player interaction; everything works in perfect unison to create one of the most powerful experiences seen created through the medium. It’s most certainly true that there have been far more eloquent storylines crafted and there have been far more mature thematic underpinnings, but, as is true in any medium, sometimes it’s the way the pieces are glued together that creates the experience. As an analogy one could argue whilst Joyce’s works of literature are far more convoluted, clever and skilfully written than most it’s very possible to argue that his stories are also far less appealing, far less emotive and far less moving because of it. Whilst in the other corner Philip K Dick’s rushed works of narrative are powerfully engaging and are becoming far more relevant and important to society than Joyce could ever dream of. In a medium still attempting to understand itself and more importantly how to relate meaning and emotive power it’s strange that a game now over ten years old could still be the benchmark for emotionally challenging it’s player. What is undeniable is that Final Fantasy VII’s storyline and characters are still the most recognised and known on a mainstream scale for the industry. Arieth’s death is still the one most recognisable scene from any game, even though games like Second Sight, Eternal Darkness and ICO have shown the same flair for stunningly powerful set-pieces and emotive austerity. What it comes down to is that the characters created by Nomura is this game burn themselves onto your soul and heart in a way no other has achieved. Laced intricately and inextricably into the overarching narrative, the characters fate is linked to that of the world in such a clever way that their desire to save everything exudes through onto the games player. Moreover the slightly base design of the characters, due to a lack of processing power at the time as Nomura would attest to, actually forces a degree of self-projection onto the game world characters. Cloud, Arieth, Tifa, the irrepressible Septhiroth. The level of emotional connection has yet to be replicated by any game and stands a testament to the unique skills that wound together the game. This level of emotional warmth spreads further, into minor characters and the game world itself. Partly as a construct of the themes, which are almost Keatsian in their romantic concept, there is a hugely genuine desire to preserve the world. The fact that serious events cause even the most walk on cast to actively respond to the world around them is intensely powerful. When Meteor appears the dialogue (usually only one or two lines anyway) of inhabitants alters to reflect the changing conditions of the world around them. It is remarkable how something so simple, yet so humanising, is oft overlooked in so many games. It helps make the world seem real and helps the player to deeply care.
There are other factors too, the power of places like Temple of the Ancients links brilliantly to the story. The back story and exposition of the characters allows you to feel you are only seeing a snapshot of the world, you are only witnessing a period of it’s history rather than just playing something created only for the time you play the game. The pacing is also perfection, waxing and waning, accelerating and slowing in perfect harmony with the narrative. The sudden slow pace, and almost soothing stillness, as well as sad reflection after Arieth’s death is so metaphorically perfect as to seriously affect you. In many ways it’s even more profound than her death. The world of Final Fantasy doesn’t feel like it has been created just for you as a gamer; it has a history. As you learnt about each characters past you also learnt about how the world has changed. The great metropolis of Midgar was once small villages, the polluted fishing port of Junon once a beautiful fishing town and the village of Wutai once the centre of a great civilisation. Every place feels real, like you’re just visiting it at a part in it’s history and this adds immeasurably to the emotional impact of the game; This is a world that is real and a world that needs saving. The fact you constantly shift backwards into the past to re-play vital events is also deeply effective. At one section you play a young Cloud Strife, fighting alongside the great Sephiroth. This has two important effects on the game. Firstly it allows you to see the power of Sephiroth (compared to you in the game at this stage) which personifies your feelings of awe towards him and secondly it enforces the notion of events already past
It may be somewhat misplaced to write such a long review and spend so long without actually mentioning the game-play itself, but it’s to the testament of the game that what you are left with is the remaining memories and emotional power of the story and characterisation. However the game-play itself, somewhat ironically, is fairly typical RPG staple. Admittedly it carries some flair, and some of integrations with the story are impressive but there is nothing overtly revolutionary about the intricacies of the play mechanics, aside from the graphical invention. Final Fantasy VII’s battle mechanics are maybe it’s one great weakness and maybe another of it’s strengths. Again, it must be remembered that through the eyes of a gamer at the time, what the battle system in Final Fantasy VII represented was remarkable. Battles were conducted by selecting a variety of attacks, magic or summons. The first time a summon was ever used is also another memorable moment for gamers; a huge sprawling monster tearing up the floor or a great Wizard sending lightening all over the screen. The one word to describe this best, whilst maybe not the most elegant, is simply jaw-dropping. Generally you upgraded weapons by buying new ones in shops around the world and you could procure new materia to equip to weapons (allowing you to use magic) from shops, enemies or from around the world. This general simplicity allowed the focus to become the story and the characters, a balance the following Final Fantasy got slightly wrong with an over complex fighting system. That said some people simply failed to register with this form of gaming and the use of random battles has been a bug-bear for many people over many RPG games before and since.
For many people Final Fantasy VII is simply the greatest game ever made. A masterpiece of story and character. The best way to describe the game is maybe as an experience. You can deconstruct it’s separate entities and in many ways there are many mundane elements to the game but, and it’s a significant but, Final Fantasy VII was a master of emotional manipulation. The game extracted feeling from the gamer, caring and anger, love and hate, Final Fantasy VII was a roller coaster of emotions that no game has come close to matching. For those who played this game many felt like they’d experienced a journey, a journey of fraught feelings and emotions, and one that may never be matched again.