Is it one of the best games ever? YES! YES IT IS!
I got 2 CDs from Peter (both of them were disk 1 for some reasons; people in my country don't really have much appreciation for video games) and I popped the first one into my Playstation. I named the main character Cloud after me and started playing the game...
By the time I reached the over-world I realized that this was so much more then just a game where you can name your characters.
I have never before played an RPG so I was pretty confused about all the random battles and leveling up. I was also confused because of the second (and third) Disk, because I couldn't imagine why a game would need more then one disk.
I spent more then a 100 hours from that day on leveling up my characters and trying to beat the game. Every single second spend withing the game has been rewarding in one way or another.
Only later when I finally god myself a dial-up internet did I discover how popular this game is, and I wasn't surprised at all.
The story of this game is probably the main reason for the games popularity. The story is filled with amazing character back-stories, surprising turn of events, happy and especially sad moments, unforgettable scenes and (like in all Japanese stories) plot-holes you just don't care about. What's really amazing about these plot-holes is that ever since the players discovered them, 'Square' producers have been trying to explain them through a sequel and a prequel, a movie and even a small Anime film. Try as they might, a lot of people still don't fully understand the true origins of the main character but the most amazing thing about all that unsatisfactory explanation was that people still love this game so much. That's right, it's that good. You really do get attached to all the characters (except Caith Sith) and really want to see them beat the bad guy, who just so happens to be one of the most bad-ass villains of all time. Only one of the characters didn't receive enough explanation and so they dedicated an entire new game to him. Just like all Final Fantasy games before this one, your goal is to save the world from the bad guy. The journey will be long and hard but also rewarding.
The gameplay is like all RPG's with a lot of new and unique battle mechanics.
One part of the game you control the character's movement and the other part of the game you fight in random and non-random battles. Since there isn't much to be said about the movement I will focus on the battle mechanics. As you explore the world of Final Fantasy VII you will fight many monsters and bosses. Once you engage a battle, the game shifts from walking into a battle mode, just like in all previous Final Fantasy games. The battles are turn based with a time limit. Meaning that you have to assign all the commands of all characters during a limited amount of time, but you will rarely be in a rush because even with a time limit there still is plenty of time to think your strategy through. You are able to attack, use magic, summon monsters, use items and perform powerful character finishing moves called Limit breakers. In the world of Final Fantasy VII, in order to use Magical abilities as well as to command monsters and use various commands, people must equip Materia to either their weapon and/or armor. Each Materia represents one magical element, monster or a command. Any character can use any Materia at any time, so you are pretty much able to turn all of your characters into both powerful spell-casters as well as powerful warriors. Materia can also gain levels. Instead of Experience points Materia grows with Ability points. Ability points are in my opinion much more important then experience points, since you won't be powerful enough with just raw levels. Once a Materia accumulates enough Ability points it will grow a level and you will become stronger. For example, when a Fire materia reaches level 2, you will be able to cast a more powerful spell Fire 2 (Fira), and on the next level Fire 3 (Firaga). Once a materia reaches a new level, it will not only become maxed but also give birth to a copy of itself, that will start from level 1 again. Getting a lot of Magic materia this way isn't that rewarding because you can buy most of them from stores, but getting more summoning materia is almost mandatory since you won't find more then 1 of the same summoning materia out in the open. This is a very easy-to-use and addictive battle system and you definitely will try to get and grow all the materia.
Final Fantasy games have been known and loved for all their recognizable characters such as chocobos, moogles, monsters and summoning monsters. Everybody loved summoning monsters in the previous Final Fantasy games and this game gave us what we wanted. Over 30 different monsters can be summoned in Final Fantasy VII. This is a subject often forgotten when people discuss Final Fantasy VII because, in my opinion, summoning monsters is one of the coolest features of the game. All you do is watch a cool cut-scene of the monster appearing and doing a lot of damage and it never gets old. If you loved Bahamut in previous Final Fantasy games you will love this one because there are three versions of him.
Other then summoning powerful monsters this game is also rich with Limit breakers. All characters start with just 1 and in order to get more, you need to use the ones you know as much as possible, most of them are obtained in battles, but the most powerful moves can only be obtained from an item hidden somewhere deep within the game.
The game also features one of the most fun side-quests ever: Chocobo Racing. You are finally able to own your own chocobo, race it and even breed it with other ones. If you successfully breed your chocobo you will get chocobos that can cross high mountains, lakes and even oceans. My advice is to get them because they are the only way to obtain the most powerful materia in the game. Racing them is just plain fun. It's hard at first but once you get a fast chocobo you will laugh as other racers eat your dust.
When it comes to graphics, this game also stands out. For 1997 this game was way ahead of it's time. Nowadays people will probably find them unappealing but back in 1997 the game looked amazing. The occasional cut-scenes still stand out even to this day. The monsters, especially the ones you summon look amazing. There is no voice acting and all the dialogues in the game are told in text format which won't stop you from enjoying the story and the gameplay.
The music is simply amazing. The battle theme is one of the catchiest battle themes ever made, the over-world theme is nice and soothing, and during the last boss battle you get a fully orchestrated choir... just amazing. Even to this day I still tell stories of the last battle in Final Fantasy VII.
Another thing that I need to mention in this game is it's popularity. A lot of people claim that this game is over-rated and that it isn't worthy of all the praise it gets. Like I mentioned before, I fell in love with this game even before I learned of it's popularity so I wasn't influenced to play it because of the hype. To all the people who trash talk about this game all I have to say is: ''Play the game and THEN state your opinion''. To many it may not be the best JRPG ever but only insane people can state that this game is simply BAD. The only people who give clear statements about why this game is BAD are people who are desperate for attention.
Final Fantasy VII was and still is my most favorite game of all time. Even if it wasn't for all my childhood memories and all the hours spent playing this amazing game, I still would put it somewhere on the top of my most favorite game list. If you haven't played it, go and do so. This game was my introduction to RPG's in general and, my god, it sure was a hell-of-a introduction.