Final Fantasy VII

The Good
Now, the more that goes under this section, the more I like such games, hehe. Duh, ain't it obvious? :) Well, let's start by checking everything that's great in this game...

The Story: now, my first FF game was the 8th sequel, so this one was the second for me, actually. Still, both of games have really long and complex story with great characters and both, action and dramatic scenes. Unfortunately, this one isn't made to have a happy ending... unless your main character, Cloud, is okay to stick with Tifa as a final. The story upgrades quickly, and will probably give you many hours of play, and that is if we don't count other substories aside that can increase amount of time maybe to double or more. So, as a conclusion, the story rules, and has all the qualities to join love and action into fantasy science fiction genre.

The Action: oh, I specially like this part. Comparing to Final Fantasy VIII, fights seem kinda much easier in this sequel. As I'm not for hard nor high level of playing, I prefer when I'm able to pass my enemies with better strategy or stealth tactic instead of fighting over 10 mins with a single enemy. The battle system is real-time turn-based mixture, which means, you have to wait for a certain time to be able to strike or use a spell, same as your enemy, but still, when your timeline is ready, you can act whenever you want to. Also, the great part in this squel (over FF8) is that you can pick up weapons and use them instead. Of course, in Final Fantasy VIII you could only have a weapon that you start with, and your were able to upgrade that certain weapon piece, but I never figured how to do that, so never mind that issue. As for the spells and materia (GF in FF8), you are pretty much able to buy that anywhere around, and the higher level between certain character and assigned materia is, the more effective magic or summoned creature is.

The Music: hmm, now that is a masterpiece. I mean, just a few months ago, I never listened to any SquareSoft music, but it's all changed now, hehe. All Final Fantasy game tracks are great in general, and this sure is no exception. It sure helpt to build the atmosphere in every point, adventuring or battling.

The Graphic: now this part was great, hey, check the 'against' section so you don't think I like all the graphics in this game, as I find some parts pretty crappy. However, since this is a PC version, I ask you again, why the heck do these consoles even exist? This sure has great graphic and runs pretty fast on even slower machines as well. Background art is really something, as well as all the animations that does not consist of human characters.

Well, what else is left to say... oh, yeah, the navigation. Well, that is great, either on the global map, simulating a craft, or running with a chocobo, hehe. Yeah, those are the bird I wouldn't like to ride twice, LOL! Naaw, seriously, the game is great, except for one thing...

The Bad
I know that this is intentionally made that way, but I'm really sick of how characters are poorly animated and made in general. I mean, elbows seem like every character is heaving some 50 pounds weight and all just came out of GYM. I mean, get serious, this is a fantasy world, but not for human kind, just for others around, LOL! Anyway, after like 30 hours of playing, I got used to that, still not completely, but okay. But I wouldn't like to experience such a graphical crap in my future anymore. I mean, Chrono Cross, Parasite Eve, Final Fantasy VIII & X those are the greatest SquareSoft games with amazingly made graphic characters, no matter some of them does not lok real, they look NICE, and that's that counts. I spit on all FF7 graphic characters!

The Bottom Line
I was wondering for a long time what made americans love Final Fantasy VII so much, even though it doesn't have a speech included. Well, after playing Final Fantasy VIII, I became a definite FF fan(atic), but it kinda almost splashed when I got to play this game I'm reviewing. Well, as long as sequels remain better, I'm on for it, and I sure wouldn't like to miss "Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within" movie that's supposed to hit the theaters this summer. Look, many folks find this game better than FF8, but I wouldn't recommend you this one if you care at least a bit on how CGI looks alike in it. Otherwise, story, music, art (not characters - that sucks), everything's in place, and really great experience for any adventure/RPG admirer.