The Good, the Bad and the Broken: Final Fantasy 7 Worth Playing Today?

[@grounddowngaming]

This was my first JRPG as well. I think I was 17 when this came out. I remember the marketing behind this game was intense, it was everywhere. At the time this looked better than any game that had ever been made before. The way the game starts by thrusting you so hard right into the middle of the Avalanche vs. Shinra war was awesome! No dicking around town first to get to know everyone. Then spending the rest of the game chasing after Lord Edgelord and being one step behind was the constant carrot on the stick. For over 100 hours my main motive was "I'm gonna find this motherfucker and wreck his stupid, smug, Aeris killing, weeb sword wielding, Jenova ass sniffing face! ". All of the characters were written well enough to be loveable and to understand their motivations even with some of the muddy narrative. To me, the materia system was incredible (except for the leveling grind). All of the music was peak, even if some of the tracks were incredibly repetitive. This game has not aged well and is hard for me to go back and get in a full playthrough. I play it in chunks. This is not the best game ever made but it is my favorite game ever made. I'm with you as well King, FF8 was a turd sandwich, like WTF that's what we get after 7? To this day I'm still trying to wash away the memory of the 10-15 hours I put into that game. Sorry for the long comment, there is just a ton to say about this game!

[@ReplayJunky]

Yea I remember after the Aerith scene, I was so pissed and I wanted to kill Sephiroth right then and there!!! lol I think the problem with FF8 as well is that it had to follow FF6 and FF7. I honestly think that's probably why FF9 gets high praise, it's compared to FF8.

[@justincase43]

just found out about your channel. as someone who grew up gaming in the 90s, i love this nostalgia clarifying series. thanks for creating

[@ReplayJunky]

@@justincase43 thank you for your comment and glad you found the channel! I love the 90s for games, so many great games. What are your top favorites from that time?

[@justincase43]

@ snes era… final fantasy ii and iii (iv/vi), secret of mana with a multiplayer action rpg was so novel to me. seems like you were big on rpgs based on your vids

[@ReplayJunky]

@ yea I was! FF7, FF6, A Link to the Past, Chrono Trigger

[@Vyse195]

I didn't play Final Fantasy VII until 2008. All I ever heard was the best RPG ever. I decided to give this game a try and it's great, but it's not the best RPG ever. Some people say I feel that way because I was 18 when I played it, or I didn't play when it was new back in 1997 Honestly I feel it falls short of Final Fantasy 6 in many ways. Which I played a year before this.

[@ReplayJunky]

@@Vyse195 I think the argument of “you didn’t play it back in 1997” is compensating for the graphics. Back then it was new and fresh and “revolutionary” but later on it didn’t age well. But if you in fact didn’t judge it by graphics and purely on story and combat, then that’s great. And yea, I hear from a lot of people that FF6 is greater than FF7. And in my opinion, that’s the only FF game that I can live with people saying is better haha.

[@joshz2491]

9 is better than 7, despite many people's disagreement. The story, in particular, is better written , even though it is not as epic. I would much rather be able to understand wtf is happening, and anyway, nine is superisingly dark for a game with such a “childish” art style, though I hate this particular criticism. It definitely aged better than 7 did. Literally made me an existential thinker too, the writing is that good.

[@ReplayJunky]

@ 9 was really good and yes was very dark with Vivi. Honestly one of the reasons why I don’t go back to play it is that I find the first 3-4 hours sooooo boring haha

[@trufreedom]

I hate when people complain about the summoning animations.. Glad you clarified about KoTR being an end game summon, plus Emerald Weapon is one of the few enemies that could survive the combo you suggested

[@ReplayJunky]

@@trufreedom yea my real issue with the summon animations comes from many attempts at Emerald Weapon and failing. Watching my combo go off, 10 minutes later and still dying. My attempts were when I was younger and I know there are better strats but damn was that infuriating haha

[@veghesther3204]

About KoTR even WITH 9999 HP 999 MP against the CARRY ARMOR boss I'll never fight it WITHOUT summoning all 13 Knights to off it instantly even WITH The PS4 versions GOD mode cheat on where at 9999 HP you'll never DIE since it can only arm grab 2 party members not all 3 of them.

[@ReplayJunky]

@@veghesther3204 ah that's cool!

[@NYCHeavyHitz212]

Yeah because why would you use Knights on a damn Cactuar?

[@NYCHeavyHitz212]

@@ReplayJunkyI feel u tho.

[@controladortv]

Best way to play it nowadays is through PC with mods and a slight speedhack for making the battles a little faster. That's the way to go, this game still holds up till today, much better than those crappy Nomura remakes.

[@ReplayJunky]

Yea, I agree. Those mods make the graphics much easier to tolerate. For someone new to the series it's probably a good idea to add them.

[@Yeaster]

This game is so iconic and important. The story is still among the best in the genre imo

[@ReplayJunky]

@@Yeaster I am so enthralled with the story, I don’t think any can top it.

[@Ragingspoon]

I play this at least once every year and every time I find something new and come away impressed with what they achieved. FFIV-X will likely remain some of my favourite RPGs and in some cases games of all time.

[@ReplayJunky]

@@Ragingspoon yea it’s my comfort game, I love coming back to it. Still playing FF7 Rebirth with over 80 hours in it, trying to 100% it. Have you played the remakes?

[@jamesmayo9533]

You truly cannot talk about "best game ever made" without this one being mentioned

[@ReplayJunky]

@@jamesmayo9533 I agree!

[@Artoniz88]

Just hit me. Orochimaru pulled a Sephiroth with the curse-marks.

[@ReplayJunky]

@@Artoniz88 it’s a good move! Lol

[@snake098765]

They should make all modern games with super long cutscenes and make them totally unskipable. Curb your -tsm.

[@ReplayJunky]

@@snake098765 lol omg

[@davidwhatsthatabout7404]

FF1 = Mobile Suit Gundam FF4 = Gundam Wing FF7 = Gundam Unicorn (comparison is based on introduction to the west and popularity internationally)

[@ReplayJunky]

hahaha I love the references!

[@driptcg]

thanks! im actually a big fan of Cloud cuz i rewatched FF7AC a million times as a kid but never played the game! In looking at other comments i'll probably look for a "definitive"/QoL mod for emulating it, which is what im currently doing for old pokemon games

[@ReplayJunky]

@@driptcg yea I recommend it! I believe the mod is 7th Heaven. You can look into it and if you need help hit me up and I’ll gladly steer you in the right direction

[@Kintzugi]

In hindsight, I actually love the polygon character models! Especially because, as you said, the combat and cutscenes showed off better visuals. The polygons come off endearing to me and because they were only used in FF7, which gives it so much identity (for better or for worse haha) vs the other FF's! All in all.. I think your rating is fair! This game is so highly loved imo because of it's characters and for me, I think they carry it to 4/5 Buster Swords!

[@ReplayJunky]

Only .5 Buster Swords higher! I'll take that haha! It will and will always be my favorite game of all time, the story and the twists were so good back then. It strangely is my comfort game.

[@logancrawley2634]

this game still rules....i played this in 2000 on PC and several times afterwards...the graphics suck but that's why its so charming...but im old and obviously biased...kids today might hate it

[@ReplayJunky]

@@logancrawley2634 kids definitely have a hard time getting over the graphics

[@Shazammo]

in 2024 it can be rough to play if you don't have the ps1 nostalgia. but mods breathe an ungodly amount of new life into the game and I'm enjoying a playthrough right now.

[@ReplayJunky]

@@Shazammo I actually did try those mods out and I do agree it does help a lot. Unfortunately there wasn’t a mod to skip the summon cutscenes 😂

[@JahWillBlessKwaz]

I remember having the debate about FF6 vs FF7 back in the day and I was a FF7 fanboy until I replayed them recently. FF7 is still great to me but no where near close to FF6.

[@ReplayJunky]

So I haven't played FF6 in like 15+ years...does that mean I need to replay it? lol

[@JahWillBlessKwaz]

@ReplayJunky yeah it holds up way better than FF7. I hate to admit it.

[@ReplayJunky]

@@JahWillBlessKwaz that makes me sad... lol

[@johnforkner]

I have no nostalgia for this game. I’ve tried to play it five times and always fall off sometime after leaving Midgar. The experience is so clunky and the story and characters aren’t grabbing me at all-I’m going to try for a sixth time. Wish me luck!

[@ReplayJunky]

OMG you have to play pass Midgar! That's when the game opens up and the story gets really good. Grit your teeth and play it through!

[@MrSaturnMusic]

I was the same way, I tried over and over and never got it I booted it up and streamed it over discord with some friends and... That totally changed the experience I'm nearing the end of disc 1 now and I'm totally hooked

[@ReplayJunky]

@@MrSaturnMusic that is awesome! I love that and want your opinion after you finish!

[@dannyboi87]

Yeah this game is still amazing. I played it when it first came out when i was about 9 (36 now) and I've played it so many times. However, i think my favourite is FFX. Its a tough call this 7s music is too good

[@ReplayJunky]

@@dannyboi87 the music is amazing! I got the soundtrack on a collector’s edition vinyl set a few years back. Was totally worth getting a record player to play them haha

[@DutchDread]

Its not as good as ffix, but its still one of the three best games ever made

[@ReplayJunky]

But is FF9 good because it followed FF8??? lol

[@hugbuzzard]

I love FF7, but it’s not the best in the series. I think ProJared said it best, “FF7 is the most important one, FF6 is my favorite one, and FF9 is the best one.” Personally, FF4 will always be the game when I think of Final Fantasy. Took all the best things of the first 3, added compelling characters, and an in depth story. Pretty game changing for 1991. FFX has an amazing battle system, but the story is trash. Not a fan of the characters either. FF5 has an amazing job system, but the story is too silly. FF8 has an incredible world, but it tried to be too ambitious so the story gets kinda convoluted. There is also the GF/draw system that could have been better implemented. FF12 was a fun expansive world, but some of the characters fell flat. The story also feels rushed, but that’s because the development traded hands a bunch. FF13 is just terrible. Not a FF game at all. FF15 could have been great, and even though it was “in the oven” for years it still came out half baked. They tried to tell the story through all this different media rather than just have it in the game. Square always getting too ambitious. FF16 is still up for debate, but I’ll probably never play it. I don’t want/need a PS5.

[@ReplayJunky]

@@hugbuzzard wow very in depth. I know FF6, FF7 and FF9 are always up at the tops fighting for the number 1 spot. I do believe the reasons for it are always valid. Like who was the best villain? Sephiroth or Kefka? (I feel like that statement is going to open a can of worms…lol)

[@zetascorpii49]

YES.

[@ReplayJunky]

Hell yea!

[@xAnalysisx]

Greatest game ever made!

[@ReplayJunky]

@@xAnalysisx honestly, I really believe it is and is my all time favorite!

[@olstar18]

@@ReplayJunky I don't know if I'd go that far but it is definitely in the running.

[@ReplayJunky]

@@olstar18 What would you consider the best? Maybe top 3

[@olstar18]

@@ReplayJunky Difficult for me to really give an actual best but maybe ff6, the original deadspace and either star ocean end of time or the orignal xcom depending on how I feel that morning.

[@ReplayJunky]

@@olstar18 I like FF7, Chrono Trigger, A Link to the Past

[@blarghts]

I'm just going to throw this out there. Of the non mmo mainline FF games the ones that used turn based combat are the ones people are more likely to agree are good or great while the ones that use "real time combat" get at best mixed opinions. So I hard disagree with the 3 out of 5 for combat I'd would put it at 4 or 5. I'd even argue that long summons aren't a huge problem if you're not trying to get the game done more quickly as content because they level slow cost a lot of mana and in a normal play through are rely only used in boss encounters.

[@ReplayJunky]

@@blarghts I can see your point on that. I for one love turn based but always got frustrated waiting on animations like summons. For my first playthroughs I relied a lot on summons. (I was young) As I got older, I agree with your statement that I used them less and less. Partially because I didn’t want to watch them. So if you give combat 4 out of 5 that should but FF7 up to 4 out of 5 total. I can live with that haha

[@giuliobonasso3663]

Call me a nostalgic fanboy, but I think FF7 graphics are unique and kinda cute, it's called chibi style and from what I heard it was an artistic choice, it wasn't chosen due technological limitations. FF8 took a more "realistic" approach but the result is not great, everything is very low res. FF7 battle graphics are wayyy better.

[@ReplayJunky]

@@giuliobonasso3663 that’s interesting, and here I always thought it was due to graphical limitations. Ok I’ll give you that, but what’s the deal with unskippable summons??? Lol

[@Shazammo]

@@ReplayJunky tbh id believe it was because of limitations. ff7's development was notoriously sketchy and they are lucky they got a totally working build (hence things like the debug menu still being ingame)

[@ReplayJunky]

@@Shazammo well I think they were also dealing with leaving Nintendo and from what I read the N64 was failing to run their test demos

[@ralphiecifaretto8961]

FF7 isn't even the best Final Fantasy game, let alone best of all time.

[@ReplayJunky]

What would you consider to be the best Final Fantasy game?

[@bosstapia1417]

7 is the best amd popular overall, butt gameplay wise its x ​@@ReplayJunky

[@ReplayJunky]

@ oooo I didn’t like X, what did you like about it? (Tbh I haven’t played that game since release)

[@ralphiecifaretto8961]

@@ReplayJunky I'm still a big fan of 6. I think FF7 is maybe the 3rd best one?

[@ReplayJunky]

@ 3rd?!?! What’s the second lol

[@hugbuzzard]

I love FF7, but it’s not the best in the series. I think ProJared said it best, “FF7 is the most important one, FF6 is my favorite one, and FF9 is the best one.” Personally, FF4 will always be the game when I think of Final Fantasy. Took all the best things of the first 3, added compelling characters, and an in depth story. Pretty game changing for 1991. FFX has an amazing battle system, but the story is trash. Not a fan of the characters either. FF5 has an amazing job system, but the story is too silly. FF8 has an incredible world, but it tried to be too ambitious so the story gets kinda convoluted. There is also the GF/draw system that could have been better implemented. FF12 was a fun expansive world, but some of the characters fell flat. The story also feels rushed, but that’s because the development traded hands a bunch. FF13 is just terrible. Not a FF game at all. FF15 could have been great, and even though it was “in the oven” for years it still came out half baked. They tried to tell the story through all this different media rather than just have it in the game. Square always getting too ambitious. FF16 is still up for debate, but I’ll probably never play it. I don’t want/need a PS5.

[@ReplayJunky]

So the question is, are the games getting worse with each iteration or are we just nostalgic and keep these games on a pedestal?