I find it pretty interesting that two of my
favorite rpgs, Chrono Trigger and Final Fantasy VII, have a closely tied development history.
Planning sessions for Final Fantasy VII were first held in 1994, and its initial concept
was vastly different from the game we'd get our hands on three years later. It was originally
planned to be another sprite based game developed for the super nintendo, and was supposed to
take place in a modern day New York setting. According to Tetsuya Nomura, the original
script was a detective story where the player followed an investigation in pursuit of the
main characters. However, several of the staff members chosen to work on Final Fantasy VII
were also in the middle of development on Chrono Trigger, so planning had to be put
on hold once Chrono Trigger really began to take shape. As a result, many of the ideas
originally intended for Final Fantasy VII made their way into Chrono Trigger, and others,
like the modern day New York setting, made their way into later games developed by Square
such as Parasite Eve. Development on Final Fantasy VII officially
began in 1995, more than a full year after the release of Final Fantasy VI. Square had
been discussing the possibility of developing an RPG in 3D for some time, ever since the
development of Final Fantasy 5 actually, but it wasn’t until 1995 that that possibility
became a reality. In the time between the release of Final Fantasy VI and the beginning
of Final Fantasy VII’s development, Square produced their first fully 3D rendered tech
demo called Final Fantasy SGI. The demo featured three characters from Final Fantasy VI, Locke,
Terra, and Shadow, battling against a large earth elemental monster, and the experiment
was seen as such a success that many of the design mechanics were carried over into Final
Fantasy VII itself. However, because of the immense memory storage requirements, it became
quickly evident that developing a full game on this scale would be incredibly expensive,
especially to produce on cartridges. This, of course, created a fundamental problem.
Nintendo had been hard at work on their next generation console, the Ultra 64, later known
as the Nintendo 64, which was announced to feature a rom cartridge design. This lead
to a dispute between Square and Nintendo which resulted in the tumultuous end of the companies’
long relationship. In the end, Square had had enough with cutting content in order to
fit limitations of cartridge based consoles, and once Sakaguchi had a clearer vision of
what it was he and his team had in the works, he knew he couldn’t let it happen again.
He decided to take Final Fantasy VII to Sony’s Playstation instead. Final Fantasy VII was the most ambitious title
Square had ever undertaken. It was an absolutely massive project, requiring the efforts of
roughly 120 artists and programmers. It was the most expensive video game ever produced
in its time, with a budget that, after adjusting for inflation, would be the equivalent of
70 million dollars today. For the series’ first journey into the realm of 3D, square
spared no expense on its software packages, acquiring some of the most advanced programs
used in hollywood films at the time. With dozens of new faces working on this state-of-the-art
technology, Sakaguchi, Kitase, and many of the veteran developers of the series found
themselves in awe by what they were achieving. The size, scope, and passion that fueled the
project were electrifying. They were coding a classic, and they knew it. However, these
internal successes did not come without reservations, especially after Sony put 100 million dollars
of its own money into an expansive advertising campaign. This marketing push undoubtedly
put immense pressure on the development team, creating an expectation for sales figures
far beyond what the series had ever been able to achieve in the past, and with the stakes
for the game’s success set at such extraordinary heights, I’m sure the realization that the
company’s future was now dependant on this singular title lingered incessantly in the
minds of Square’s top developers. But if the intro sequence of the game is any
indication… I’d say Square nailed it. The intro of Final Fantasy VII is easily my
favorite in the series, and probably my favorite of any video game. It’s an incredibly engaging
sequence, due to the perfect combination and unity of the sum of its parts. The use of
advanced camera techniques like these had never been seen on this level in any video
game before. The dolly out as Aeris exits the alley, followed by the crane out that
reveals the enormous, post industrial city of Midgar - the reveal of the game’s title
at the climax of an absolutely outstanding intro piece composed once again by Nobuo Uematsu,
followed by the crane and dolly in on an entirely separate sector of the city - enhanced by
the fresh and innovative art design. All of the these features accomplished in full, what
Final Fantasy VI had started three years earlier. At this point no one knew what to expect from this game. It was fresh, it was new,
and it was altogether unlike any Final Fantasy before it. The game begins in Midgar, a city where the
mega corporation known as the Shinra Electric Power Company has made its headquarters. Having
built its empire on the refining of Mako - which is essentially the planet’s life force - the
player is pitted against Shinra from within an radical environmentalist group called AVALANCHE
in a unique twist on the rebel theme seen commonly throughout the series. Though many
were opposed to Shinra’s methods, the company had become large and powerful enough to rise
as a governing force in the world, having its own military and police divisions to silence
any who might oppose them. The story literally explodes out of the gates as AVALANCHE sets
out on a mission to destroy one of the eight Mako reactors within the city. This is where
three of the principal characters of the game are introduced. Cloud Strife, the game’s
leading protagonist, Barret Wallace, AVALANCHE’s outspoken leader, and Tifa Lockheart, a small
time bartender and childhood friend of Cloud’s. After one of Avalanche’s missions goes awry,
Cloud is separated from the group and meets Aeris Gainsborough, another principal character
of the story. Though she is seemingly an innocent young woman, Cloud soon discovers that Shinra
has taken a particular interest in her, and by her request, agrees to protect her from
the agents who are seeking her out. From there the story becomes rather complex,
and I could spend hours explaining all of its intricacies, but I think it will suffice
to say that I’ve always found Final Fantasy VII’s story to be extremely compelling,
though there are many who would disagree, arguing that it’s muddy, and overly dramatic.
Something I find intriguing, however, is how Final Fantasy VII’s story draws from a multiplicity
of Hironobu Sakaguchi’s real world inspirations. What many people don’t know, is that during
the time that he began developing the concepts for Final Fantasy VII, he was faced with the
death of his mother. As he dealt with the grief of that loss, he admits that Final Fantasy
VII became his primary outlet to express his newfound ideas about life and death, and how
each individual life contributes to the delicate balance of a larger ecosystem. He borrowed
several concepts from a wide variety of cultural beliefs, with a number of references to the
mythology of the Kabbalah. There is admittedly a lot of mature material that the game explores,
which is something that Square had not been allowed to do in previous installments because
of Nintendo's strict censorship policies. I think Barret Wallace and all that he stands
for throughout the game is an excellent example of what I’m talking about. A significant
portion of the game is dedicated to telling his backstory, wherein the player is shown
why he has come to hate Shinra as much as he does. We learn that his quest for revenge
on the company lies at the heart of his motivation, though he tries so hard to mask it underneath
the noble cause of ‘saving the planet’. This hatred of Shinra leads him to do some
deplorable things, even at the expense of innocent lives. Watching this character go from a hateful, bitter, and vicious extremist
- who quickly justifies his actions with little remorse - to an introspective, sorrowful,
and penitent man who simply wants a good life for his daughter, is just a taste of the depth
of character that this game displays… and it does so on a scale that far exceeds the games
that came before it. Now, admittedly this is done at the expense of some pretty jarring
pacing issues, but for me it was forgivable because of how fascinating the background
information is. However, I can see how many people who criticize the game would be justified
in saying that the main plot comes to a screeching halt after the Nibelheim Incident is explained
in Kalm. In my opinion, however, the story is successful
in that it starts off with the protagonists matched up against the impenetrable Shinra,
and then twists and turns its way into unexpected directions - containing what is for me one
of the most fascinating Hero/Villain dynamics that I’ve ever seen in a game. The Nibelheim
Incident stands out to me as one of the most effective scenes in modern media, and gives
me chills everytime I replay the game. While there may be some might take issue with a few of the cast
members, the characters are pretty universally likable and relatable, and there are some
genuinely shocking and saddening moments throughout. Even with its labyrinthine nature, I haven’t
found in my multiple playthroughs that the story is too difficult to grasp, especially
if you take the time to see all the optional cutscenes, but there’s always a concern
with non-linear narratives like this that some of the audience will be lost along the
way. At the end of the day, I find Final Fantasy VII to be one of the most engaging narratives
ever told in the video game world despite its imperfections, which are not nearly as
grandiose as many would lead you to believe. When it comes to game mechanics, Final Fantasy
VII is in many ways a big step forward, though it also takes a few steps back. For the most
part the battle mechanics were left untouched from previous entries, but the developers
took a lot of ideas first implemented in Final Fantasy VI and made profound improvements.
For example, the battle arena in the Gold Saucer is a MAJOR improvement over the coliseum
in Final Fantasy VI, allowing the player to stay in control over the character’s actions
while still making every step foward feel like a gamble. Another major improvement comes
in the form of the limit break system, similar to 6’s desperation attacks, but with a much
more pivotal implementation in battles. Final Fantasy VII, in my opinion, took the idea
and made the proper refinements to make it an engaging addition to the battle system
- allowing you to save these powerful attacks from one battle to the next, as well as unlock
more powerful limit breaks throughout the game. However, a lot of the traditional Final
Fantasy mechanics have been simplified, and dare I say DUMBED DOWN from previous installments.
In this game you can only equip one weapon, one piece of armor, and one accessory per
character - which I find to be both disappointing and also kinda nice at the same time. It takes
away from the strategy that Final Fantasy VI had in its equipment setups, but
I kinda like not having to constantly swap equipment for different bonuses. In this game
the only real choice you have when it comes weapons and armor is whether or not you want
to have double or triple materia growth. Otherwise, if a weapon or piece of armor has a higher
attack or defense bonus, it’s generally the one you’re going to want to go with.
There’s just not much else to it unfortunately. It’s also somewhat disappointing that you can only
have a party of three, and for 90% of the game Cloud is a mandatory character. This
leaves only two slots open for the player to fill, which I think is a major step backwards
from what VI was able to accomplish with so many great characters. I suppose it would
have been alright if they had designed dungeons where the player could switch between two
parties of three characters, similarly to what they did with multiple party dungeons
in VI, but unfortunately that mechanic is nowhere to be found this time around, even when the
final dungeon is set up PERFECTLY to do so. However, even with all of these examples of
over-simplicity, Final Fantasy VII does incorporate an amazing, fresh system that makes up for
its shortcomings. The materia system is what I would describe as a big step up from the magicite
of Final Fantasy VI. Materia - which is refined, crystallized Mako energy - provides the player
with just about every ability in the game aside from the standard physical attack. It
differs from magicite in that the characters themselves aren’t the ones who learn these
abilities over time, rather the materia contains the abilities, which can be unlocked and freely
swapped between whomever the materia is equipped on. The materia system is really where all
of the customization and strategy of Final Fantasy VII’s battle system comes into play, and
in my opinion it doesn’t disappoint. The one problem I can see with it is that it can
take away the satisfaction of having to build up a party of characters with unique sets
of aptitudes. Many of the traditional Final Fantasy games forced the player to build a
party in which each character’s strengths complimented another character’s weaknesses
and vice versa. Final Fantasy VI did away with that to some extent, but Final Fantasy
VII really threw it out the window, making it almost meaningless which characters you
bring into the fight as long as you have enough weapon slots for the materia you want to use.
While many people will miss the traditional approach, I’m actually rather indifferent on the topic.
Whether or not the strategy comes from selecting a certain character for his or her abilities,
or from selecting a certain set of materia it makes no difference to me as long as there
is strategy involved - and I definitely feel like Final Fantasy VII has an adequate level
of strategy in its battle system. Another area in which I feel Final Fantasy
VII succeeds is in its side content. Though a lot of the sidequests feel rather long winded
- four hours of chocobo breeding is just a little too long for my taste - for the most
part the side content is engaging and yields some awesome rewards like rare materia and
powerful weapons. The side quests that give background to individual characters are all
really great as well. However, where the side content suffers is in its mini games. I remember
struggling with the controls even back when the game was first released. The controls
on every mini game in Final Fantasy VII are clumsy and unresponsive, which can really
make for some frustrating moments. Graphically, Final Fantasy VII is a little
bit of a mixed bag. It makes a bold but also somewhat awkward transition into the realm
of 3D. There’s no doubt that the use of Full Motion Video, which often fluently transitions
right into the gameplay, was massively impressive back in 1997. The pre-rendered backgrounds,
the character models in battle, along with the amazing animation and use of dynamic camera
moves to highlight certain battle effects were all beautifully implemented and are certainly
deserving of praise… but there is also an obvious, startling contrast with the blocky,
unproportionate models outside of battle. The pre-rendered backgrounds look really nice,
and add a powerful but subtle level of atmosphere to each area, but they’re also really difficult
to navigate. It’s hard to describe how the controls work unless you’ve played the game
before, but it feels like the directional pad is constantly being switched around on you.
The controls are consistently a problem, which made exploring new areas
far more frustrating than it needed to be. The musical score for this game, however, is just outstanding. In reflection of the game’s story, the music takes on a rather serious tone, and it really
grabbed me from the opening moments of the game. The score is massive, spanning 85 tracks
on four discs with a combined duration of over four and half hours. Although the soundtrack
as a whole is primarily orchestral, it does cover a wide variety of musical genres including
rock, techno, and choral. The main theme of the game, as well as Aeris’ theme, are two
of the most moving pieces in the series for me - capturing perfectly the duality of hopeful
perseverance and sorrowful regret that this game encapsulates so well. The music of Final
Fantasy VII is a perfect fit for the story and characters, and I would say that this
soundtrack sits EASILY among the top three in the series overall. Final Fantasy VII is an amazing game. It took
bold steps forward into unexplored territory, a risky business for any popular video game
franchise, and while it isn’t perfect, it is without question one of the most inspired
pieces of art I’ve ever had the pleasure of experiencing. While I can understand how
many fans were disappointed with the major changes made to classic mechanics and formulas
of the past, I myself being a pretty big fan of traditional fantasy and old school RPGs,
I have to say that in my opinion this was the best game the series had seen yet
because of the power and the passion that fueled its development. I can feel it every
time I play it. There’s just something very special about this game that never loses its
appeal and wonder for me. The story is remarkably well told and unpredictable, the characters
are layered and interesting, the setting is fresh and unique, the world is huge, and the
gameplay mechanics are great. It’s just an amazing overall effort on the part of Square
to pull such a massive team together and create something that feels so tight and fluent.
I give Final Fantasy VII 4 ½ uselessly large and cumbersome, yet somehow still freaking
awesome buster swords, out of five.
