XS FF7 Review

My Review of Final Fantasy VII:

I review games based on five total areas. I have Difficulty, Story, Audio, Bugs, and Mechanics including the graphics and game play mechanics. In each area a total of 5 points can be awarded for a total of 25 points for a perfect game.

Difficulty: 4/5

I feel that Final Fantasy VII offered a challenging difficulty for most of my Lets Plays of it. It is one of the rare games that you can place restrictions on different things to offer an astounding challenge even when you know how everything works. This game has a tremendous arsenal of different things that affect the main game that you can place the restrictions on to make a replay that much more engaging. These range from the classic weapons and armor to more dynamic things like materia, limit breaks, money, and even the side quests you complete. The ONLY reason that this got a 4/5 is that when it comes to the super bosses there is pretty much only one strategy that works, period. I would have loved to see a wide array of things that work even though they may take longer. For instance, Ruby Weapon will pretty much ALWAYS one shot you, but there is no real way to even slow that damage down to a reasonable level even by sacrificing offense. You either have a way to instant revive from it, or you can't win the battle. Additionally, once you have the strategy to beat the super bosses, you then become a god to the normal enemies and bosses. This makes enjoying all aspects of the game simply impossible in one play through. Most final bosses are designed to be tough, but if you kill the super bosses then the end game bosses become a joke and it truly takes away the entire atmosphere of what the game built up to.

Story: 5/5

This is one area that this game truly shines. Simply put, you have character design and backstory to every character. Including side quests for the ones you capture later on so that they don't seem "neglected." The story is very linear but yet, open world. You can explore whatever area you want and go back to previous places as you please, but you always know where to go. This game has a very memorable protagonist, antagonist, and even some side villains who really bring you into the game by putting enemies against enemies. In fact, most people confuse who the actual real villain is, it's that good. Final Fantasy VII has for most people, the most iconic story of all time. Aside from disagreeing with this, I will say that it is one you won't forget anytime soon.

Audio: 5/5

Nobou Uematsu is the man responsible for the audio track of this game. I will simply say, he doesn't let you down.

Bugs: 3/5

Taking into account that this game is just about twenty years old, I still feel that the bugs deserve two strikes. One massive reason is sorely because the magic armor is completely broken. The stat is simply zero no matter what armor you equip. That is a pretty inexcusable bug to have in a release. The second reason is for the spelling errors, and the chocobo glitch.

Mechanics: 4/5

This only lost a point here because of the Fort Condor situation. The game never keeps you informed of this side quest, and you have no way of knowing when to go back unless you are psychic or you read a guide.

Conclusion:

This is one of the best games I have ever played. Aside from my minor complaints, it truly is a engaging, immersive, enjoyable experience from start to finish. I highly recommend this game to anyone who hasn't played it. I also encourage veterans to do challenges with this game.