I've gone through so many Side Posts that I'm starting to run out of ideas for good new ones.
Sure, I could redo a few of the old posts, but there's really only one or two I could improve on.
With that in mind, I have to think up new ideas and get after them whenever one hits me.
Well! One finally hit me!
Recurring Fantasy Side Post Theater Proudly Presents...
Final Fantasy VII - Overrated or Overhated?
This post is inspired about a rant that happened a while back on Facebook. Long story short, there was a huge influx of people who were hating on Final Fantasy VII. I'm not saying it's wrong. Not at all, I used to be there.
When FFVII first came out, it was a revolutionary game for the time. It was a fairly revolutionary RPG too! Everybody said it was the perfect game, and at the time, it almost was. As time went by, people started looking back at it as one of the greatest RPGs ever made and one of the best FF titles to grace this world. This is around the time I had played it, and I greatly felt otherwise. I was a fan of FFIX, and I felt it was the best. I was one of those going "FF7 Sucks!" or something along that line.
Now we come to more modern times, and it's almost Now that time has passed and I've played more in the series, I see each game for what it is worth. I can appreciate FFVII for what it brought to the table. However, it's almost a fad to hate on the title. This just seems wrong. People aren't examining the game for what it is, so now I'm typing up this Side Post.
Now, is Final Fantasy VII overrated? The answer to the question gets complex, but I'd like to say flat out that "No, it is not." Why do I say this? Final Fantasy VII brought a 3D RPG with a memorable group of characters, good graphics (for the time), fun yet balanced (mostly) gameplay, and an interesting story that still holds up today. For what it was, it was a very well made game.
However, at the same time, it's not my favorite title in the series. If I was to current rate them, I'd probably say FFIX is at the top with FFVII and FFVIII ranked second. However, FFVII had a good selection of characters without having too many (FFVI). The story is pretty good outside of kinda meh character events. (Cloud's whole memory thing is just not that great of a twist.) I don't love all the characters, but several of them still stand out. The gameplay is still one of the most memorable parts of the game for me. The materia system is just easy to pick up and use with great results. It allows for pretty good customization, and there's some interesting materia to use as well, like any of the Support or Command types.
Of course, this doesn't cover the whole "overrated" thing completely. The biggest part I was trying to argue here is that it isn't overrated at all. There's a reason it's considered a great game. Maybe not the best game of all time evar! but it's pretty dang good. Also, NEWS FLASH! A lot of the elements in FFVII are ideas and things either stolen from FFVI outright and/or greatly improved. So if you hate FFVII so much, then shouldn't you hate almost FFVI just as much? Just a little food for thought there.
Before you ever say Final Fantasy VII is overrated, you should consider the following questions:
- Have you fully played through FFVII?
- Have you played at least half of the Final Fantasy titles and can say you felt others were insanely better?
- Have you played more than a dozen RPGs and can still honestly say it isn't good?
- How many modern "great" games have you played?
Now that last line I feel should hit home to everybody. As far as I'm concerned, almost every single "GREATEST GAME EVER!" for the past several years has been a big disappointment to me in one way or another. Games like Call of Duty or Battlefield are kinda delivering the same experience every time but with fixes. The Uncharted series is fun and all, but it's not nearly as great as they make it out to be. God of War was overrated from the beginning, and now they have like six of those... Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim was fun, but it lost its appeal quite quickly for me. I don't get all the "PERFECT GAME!" hype around Last of Us. As I tell anybody, I'd watch it, but I don't want to play it. They're all good games, but they aren't nearly as great as the hype leads you to believe.
You might get angry and want to gripe at me, but I've played all of those titles outside of the last one. (I'm not changing my mind on it now, so please don't even try.) What this all comes around to is simple really... These games are all overrated. They really REALLY are. They aren't the perfect games/series that everybody makes them out to be. Great titles have come from these series, but I wouldn't call any single one perfect. At best, maybe one out of all of those could be considered "greatest".
In the end, I feel like all the talk around Final Fantasy VII is more about "overhating" rather than "overrated". People hate on it like it's a fad, and they generally don't have anything to back it up. There's a reason the game is so highly rated... It was a great game. It's not the perfect game. It's not even the best RPG evar! It's a great game that's memorable for various reasons to an incredibly large group of people. I have my reasons for liking and disliking Final Fantasy VII, and I imagine you do too.
Therefore, the next time you decide to hate on it or call it "overrated", just consider this...
Why do you hate it? Do you have an actual reason? Or are you just jumping on the bandwagon like everybody else?
Regardless of your answers to these questions (or those above), you can't deny that the game was pretty good for its time. I've played it a couple times now, and I could easily see myself playing it again.
I could go on and on... But I'm going to end it with this tacky phrase instead!
"Don't hate! Appreciate!"
"Don't hate! Appreciate!"
~May the Crystals Guide Me~
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