How Final Fantasy VII Got Me (And Everyone Else) Into RPGs

1Up:

In a way, Final Fantasy VII was my first RPG. For me, and millions of others, it was the game that truly made me a fan of the genre.

Though critical darling Final Fantasy VI was my "real" first RPG, It was Cloud and company who got me buying every single Square game during the 32-bit era, because they were the ones to show me that a videogame could exist on a scale that I hadn't been able to conceive of until that point. After playing Final Fantasy VII, RPGs finally "clicked" with me. I know I'm not alone.

[Emilio_Estevez]

Same here, I had dabbled, but never really gotten into one until FF7 came along and one of my friends really pushed me to check it out.

[FACTUAL evidence]

FF7 didn't get me into rpgs. I say FF7 is average at best tbh. What really got me hard into RPG was legend of legaia.

[Gwyn-Lord-Of-Cinder]

Yea FF7 didnt get me started eithier , but quencedently FF Tactics did .

[scotchmouth]

Ff3 and secret of mana for me

[guitarded77]

FF VII was amazing at the time, but I got into RPG's way before VII. I actually spent more time with the original FF game on NES doing multiple play through with different party members.

[doogiebear]

The first I ever played was FF 7 at my friends house, But I was little and couldnt afford it. But my friend had SaGa Frontier 1, and gave it to me and I loved it. THAT was my first true rpg. I eventually got FF 7, and beat it. I loved FF 7, but the open world nature & sad themes of SaGa Frontier won me over to JRPG's (though it's ugly as hell). That, and the incredible Breath of Fire 3. I'm a sucker for deep themes like betrayal, religion, and anti-heroes as main characters (not necessesarily villains).

U should check out those 2 games. Also FF 8, Persona 3, Xenogears, and Phantasy Star 1,2, and 4. Deep stories, real thinker JRPG's.

[Aceman18]

i've been playing RPG since NES days with the original FFs games, but FF6(3) is my favorite FF of all time.

[scotchmouth]

I'll always go back to it. Such a grand adventure.

[Aceman18]

@scotch

you sure have excellent taste. i'm playing again on my vita :)

[NYC_Gamer]

I'm a huge rpg fan but never played any FF game

[BitbyDeath]

For me it was how it started off as a small game pretty linear and then after many hours later it opens up into this gigantic world and that place where you were playing for hours was just a dot on the map.

Oblivion did something similar with coming out from the sewers although it didn't take anywhere near as long to get to that point.

[insomnium2]

LOL I was a little afraid to leave Midgar on my first playthrough.

This game really got me by the time I started understanding the junctions and Materia better. Levelling up your materia for a new spell was ADDICTING as hell. I was like 16yo when this game came out so it took me a while to understand things since english is not my main language.

I worked so hard to kill Emerald and Ruby. I spent a helluva lot of time in that underwater place where you get Hades iirc. I leveled up my kotrt-materia there and prepaired mentally for a brutal match XD

Good times..... :,)

[Son_Lee]

It's my favorite RPG, but the game that got me started was Phantasy Star II. Watching my dad play that was something magical. Up until that point, I hated RPGs, thought they were boring. Now they're my favorite genre. Thanks, dad. <3

[izumo_lee]

For me FF 4 was my first game in the series & to this day is still a fave of mine. However with FF 7 it was an experience that i could not fathom at the time. The scale was sooo much larger than in past games, the characters & story resonated with the fans. The one scene that everyone remembers was a moment that defined the game...that one moment turned this from being something more than just a game.

I have always said about FF7 is that whether you love it or hate it, people can not deny the fact that this game changed peoples views of the JRPG. A once niche genre that hardcore fans loved was now becoming more recognizable & accepted by all gamers. This game defined a generation & helped the infant Playstation 1 & Sony become a player in the industry.

[rhap]

My first RPG ever was Beyond the Beyond and I absolutely loved it at the time. A few weeks after finishing it, I tried FF7 and realized the JRPG genre was made for me.

After that, I rushed to every RPG PSX had (around 1998 I think) and started to download emulators to play old Snes and Genesis RPG, like BoF 1 and 2, FF 4 5 and 6, Phantasy Star, Bahamut Lagoon, Live a Live (awesome SNES game), etc.

I miss those days.

[Griffin4871]

Super Mario RPG got me into RPGs. I found it a bit entry-level, like Mystic Quest was.

[Asuka]

Actually for me ff8 was my first ff game, and what started my love for rpgs. really liked ff7 though. however, ff8 will always remain special to me =P Others my not agree, but oh well

[Irishguy95]

I played and finished 8 first too, then FF7, but FF7 brought me in much more.

[CrimsonessCross]

I started with Final Fantasy 7, then went to Final Fantasy 8 down the line.

To this day, I love both for what they do, just like 9 and 10, even X-2. I haven't played a whole lot of the previous entries before 7 though.

[Hicken]

I started with the demo for VIII. Hated it. Wound up getting the game, somehow, and loved it. Then I got Lunar and Legend of Dragoon. By the time I got VII, I was already hooked on the genre.

[CloudyAero]

I couldnt get into FF7..
Legend Of the Dragoon got me into RPGs.

[CrimsonessCross]

I still NEVER beat that game. I forget how far I made it but I need to get that game rolling again lol.

It was VERY atmospheric and the story was really good. I love both though :) I can't really pick one over the other.

[DarkBlood]

same here legend of dragoon was my first genre of the rpg man what great times and the best birthday present after discovering the demo cd by accident it was for what seemed like a very long game obviously because i died alot and couldnt timed the attacks very well and i always counted on items to defeat the bosses of course this made healing and item attacking very difficult but i finally beat the game and i felt very excited

i still play it to this day but i can beat it in less then 20 hours with the right know how

my first final fantasy game was at the time tactic which was awsome and new then it was ff9 after that then ff8

[vortis]

FFVI got me into RPGs and unfortunately I played it and Chrono Trigger together. From there it was just kind of downhill.

[ChunkyLover53]

I've never even played it. I've been gaming since the 1980's and I've never played a single Final Fantasy game. The game that got me into RPG's was KOTOR on the original Xbox, after that I jumped at any chance to play a Western RPG.

[doogiebear]

THAT explains all of the nonsensical opinionated statements you've been making all over n4g. How could u not play them, especially now that they are dirt cheap on psn? Smh. You always came off as an un-informed, yet highly opinionated (loudmouth) "gamer". Wow your confession to having never played an FF despite the fact you've been gaming since the 80's, speaks volumes to the lack of experience you have (despite your age). You have just invalidated every gaming opinion you ever mad or will make in the future.

I know 15 year olds that played classic FF's. Pick up an emulator man. Go on psn. Amazon. Whatever.

[ChunkyLover53]

There are lots of games that I would consider "must play" that people probably haven't played. I'm not a big JRPG guy, I find most of them boring, and Final Fantasy kind of fit that mold for me.

My choice not to play a series doesn't make my opinions on gaming any less valid, I mean its a choice. I would assume that I'd find the games to be overrated anyway, that usually happens when I play a game just because people think I should.

I've got too many games I actually want to play, games in the style I like to play, to waste time with games I've never been interested in, especially just to prove something on a place like this.

[Luke_fon_Fabre]

Yeah. Don't play RPGs just because they're western or japanese or whatever. Play them because you enjoy them. And, if you prefer Bioware games, that's great. Also, I love the Simpsons.

[CryWolf]

what got me in Final Fantasy games was FF IV in states it was called FF III tho, I also got into Chrono Trigger on the playstation I love that game wish there was a remake.

[specialguest]

Before FF4, I remember watching a friend play Dragon Warrior on the NES, and I was turned off by the lack of real-time action with too much text to read. Keep in mind I was a young kid at that time.

Many years later my brother rented FF4 and I spent those 3 days watching him play it. The story got me interested, but the turn based action still seemed odd. A week later and I finally gave it a try and was immediately hooked mainly due to the story and sense of progression from grinding and upgrading weapon/armor.

One of the most disappointing times back in those days for me was when I found out FF5 wasn't coming to the US. I used to look at images posted on the Japan games section of EGM magazine day dreaming about playing the game someday.

[TheMasterShake]

Final Fantasy VI (The Best Final Fantasy BTW) is what got me into RPG's

[thebudgetgamer]

It was Phantasy Star for me.

[youndamie]

For me it was FF IX

[dragonopt1]

It got me for sure, I remember going to my friends house one day and he was showing me all the summons and the combat. Was hooked on it since then.

[NeXXXuS]

Legend of Dragoon :D

[Xof]

I can't count the number of times I've been told that FF7 introduced me to RPGs, and that it's only my favorite Final Fantasy game because it's one of the first games I'd played.

Of course, my -real- first RPG was Baldur's Gate (the inferior first game) and my first exposure to Final Fantasy was The Spirit Within. First game was FFX.

But, yeah. It was all totally FF7.

[tiffac008]

Although FFVII was not my first RPG (The Legend of Zelda was). Its the game that got me back into console gaming.

Not that I left the PC gaming scene but consoles wouldn't be my first choice for gaming if it wasn't for FFVII.

[3-4-5]

When do you level up in Legend of Zelda ? What Class were you ? lol

[tiffac008]

I'm guessing you never played Adventures of Link ^^

http://en.wikipedia.org/wik...

Well I guess its not a traditional way of leveling up but you do gain EXP pts to distribute. lol!

I've always considered Zelda games to be action-RPGs even though most of the games does not require any leveling of any sorts.

[RandomGamer]

Annoys me how people keep going on that FF7 was the rpg that got everyone into the genre,even tho I played numerous rpgs years before.

[Treian]

FFX got me into JRPGs and of course will always be my favorite game ever. FFVII is good, but is no where near as godly as people say it is.

[hadouken182]

Gettum is a queer. Lol just a game sissy

[TheDivine]

I had mainly played Nintendo consoles (nes, snes, n64). I played alot of games in the nes/snes days but the first FF i dove into and fell in love with was 10. I had seen people play ff7/8 before but it seemed slow and boring to be honest. My guys little brothers were fanatics of ff7/8. I remember watching them play for hours baked as hell ot being able to understand a thing. I only played FFX because i was grounded for months and got tired of GTA3. I loaded up the bong, fired up the disk and was mesmerized. I had never seen graphics like that and it played so weird with voice acting and alot of conversations. Got 12 asap when it came out ironically from the same kid that gave me 10 for the same amount of weed. Loved it to death. Been a rpg fan ever since. Bioware is the company that made me love wrpgs. Kotor, Jade Empire, Mass Effect, damn those were good days.

I played all the classic psx jrpgs on psp. FF7 still holds up well (outside of the character models). Still plays great and Midgar was an amazing place to explore and a damn good setting. It really was a well made game and has that ff soul thats missing these days. Lost Odyssey is the only game since FFX to give me the classic FF feeling with similar gameplay. Makes me cry inside over what couldve been this gen.

[meatnormous]

I started with Dragon Warrior and Dragon Warrior 2. Final Fantasy came out after those 2.

[hazelamy]

i'd always been an rpg fan.
one of the earliest i can remember playing is one of the Ultimas on the Sega Master System.
but FFVII did get me really into them in a big way, even more so than before.

[Chrono]

It was my first but not my fav. I prefer FF8.

[Fishermenofwar]

Dragon Quest 1 and Final fantasy 1 for me...

But I played text adventures for the Apple II back in the day..

I guess that shows my age..LOL

Eamon and Transylvania FTW

[Luke_fon_Fabre]

Final Fantasy III DS got me into RPGs...