Things Final Fantasy 7 Does Better Than The Other Main Games

There are sixteen main entries in the Final Fantasy series, which started all the way back in 1987 on the NES in Japan. Sixteen games is impressive for any series, but that’s not even taking into account the sequels that some of these Final Fantasy games have, along with countless spinoffs. Among them all, one entry stands out: Final Fantasy 7.

It received a movie, novels, several spinoffs, remakes, and the list goes on. It is a fan favorite, but what exactly made it so groundbreaking on the PS1 in 1997? Does an almost three-decade-old game still hold weight today compared to the other entries? Let’s examine Final Fantasy 7’s many strengths when compare to the rest of this stories franchise.

8

Cloud Strife

The Unreliable Narrator

The hero, Cloud, is not the first Final Fantasy character to have amnesia. He is, however, the first one to outright lie to his allies and to the players. He has amnesia from his time as a SOLDIER within Shinra, but the memories he does recall are stated as fact.

The big revelation comes toward the end when Cloud accidentally takes on another character’s identity, Zack, who was the real SOLDIER while Cloud was just a lowly guard. It’s an incredible twist that no game has replicated since.

7

Sephiroth

The Man, The Myth, The Legend

Sephiroth is the main antagonist of Final Fantasy 7, who does not appear until much later in the game outside of a cryptic flashback. He’s touted as a legendary warrior who eventually betrayed Cloud and Shinra, but no one knows why.

The first time Sephiroth physically confronts the group is a scary moment, as he also unleashes the first form of Jenova, his alien mother. It is confusing, but the myth surrounding Sephiroth helps establish him as a truly horrific villain, akin to Jason in the Friday the 13th movies.

6

Shinra

Corporations Are Going To Destroy The Planet

Sephiroth isn’t the only villain in Final Fantasy 7; the aforementioned Shinra Corporation is greedy beyond belief. They are portrayed as an electronics company that aims to help people, but they secretly desire power, regardless of the harm it causes to the planet.

Much of the game is centered on Shinra and AVALANCHE, the group that Cloud joins in trying to go after Sephiroth on opposing sides. They may not be as scary as Sephiroth, but Shinra is certainly made up of a colorful cast of characters that go outside the norm of typical fantasy villains from warring kingdoms.

5

A Modern And Mature Setting

Catching Up With 1997

There were steampunk influences before Final Fantasy 7 and after, but nothing has felt quite as modern as the beginning of the game in Midgar. Characters dressed in suits went to work at corporations, and then came home. It’s a theme that was better explored in the sequels and the remake project of Final Fantasy 7, but it all started on the PS1.

It was a more mature title that explored love and death in interesting, heartfelt, and even scary ways. The blood-soaked floors of Shinra, toward the end of that first chapter, for example, were eye-opening and surprisingly poignant in 1997.

4

The Materia System

All Characters Are On An Even Playing Field

Story and characters are great in an RPG, but fans also enjoy actually playing these games. One of the key mechanics worth praising in Final Fantasy 7 is the Materia system. Materia came in five distinct flavors, all of which added magic, skills, or boosted stats on equipped characters.

Some Materia could even be combined to have different effects. For example, pairing All with most magical Materia, like Ice or Fire, would cause the spells to hit all enemies instead of just one. The Materia system added a lot of experimentation to the combat, and there hasn’t been a better Final Fantasy magic system since.

3

Limit Breaks

Finally, A Set Mechanic

Final Fantasy 6 was technically the first game in the Final Fantasy series to introduce Limit Breaks via Desperation Attacks, which were randomized, and most players didn’t even know the feature was present. That all changed with the literally named Limit Breaks in Final Fantasy 7.

Each party member could build up their meter, and when it was maxed out, players had a choice of activating that character’s special attack. Aerith had a lot of healing techniques while Cloud sliced up enemies with his sword skills. Other entries in the series have tried since to capture this same satisfying feeling, but none of them have cracked the code, although Trances in Final Fantasy 9 do deserve recognition as a very close second.

2

THAT Moment

A Tear Was Shed That Day, My Friends

Most video game fans know about this even if they haven’t played Final Fantasy 7, but one of the party members dies halfway through the adventure. Aerith was not the first party member to die in the series, but her death had so much more weight behind it than anyone else’s.

Final Fantasy’s storytelling really leveled up with this seventh entry, sending players crying as Aerith got stabbed from above by Sephiroth. This scene also added more sinister energy to the villain and raised the stakes for both players and the game’s characters as they found renewed will to track down and defeat him.

1

The Music Is Untouchable

Veni, Veni, Venias, Gloriosa

Final Fantasy has some of the best music in the RPG genre, but Final Fantasy 7 stands out as a trendsetter. The main theme, the song of The Turks, and the numerous battle themes all resonate and still sound spectacular.

The one song everyone knows, even if they haven’t played the game, is “One-Winged Angel,” which plays during the final boss fight with Sephiroth. Hearing Latin chants come out of the PS1 made the fight that much more epic and memorable, even beyond Sephiroth turning into a squid.